


Lies, Dreams, and Puppetry

by JustGalactic



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-27 02:12:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15675936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustGalactic/pseuds/JustGalactic
Summary: For Virgil Hervey, living in Phantasos seems like a dream. But as he and his friends will soon find out, underneath the surface, it's a living nightmare.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was my submission for the 2018 Sanders sides big bang! Check out my artists amazing work: https://honeybeesandpeonies.tumblr.com/post/176963988532/here-are-my-submissions-for-the-ts-storytime-big

Patton sat down in the cafeteria, grinning as he took a bite of his perfectly made grilled cheese sandwich.

“Y’know Virgil,” he said, mouth full of food, “I sometimes wonder how they got by before all of this.” Virgil arched his eyebrow, watching Patton take another big bite from across the otherwise empty table.

“What do you mean?”

“This!” Patton repeated, waving his hand around in a vague gesture. “The machines literally made for making food perfectly, helping us work, teaching us whatever we want to learn-”

“And talking in our ears,” Virgil interrupted with a snarl. When Patton cocked his head to the side in confusion, Virgil sighed, exclaiming, “I can’t be the only one who thinks INTER-Com is weird!”

“I dunno, I think he’s kind of sweet!” Patton grinned, and Virgil rolled his eyes.

“Patton, _it’s_ a robot. And the whole idea where it talks to you personally in your head where no one else can hear?” Virgil shuddered. “It hasn’t even talked to me one-on-one yet, and I still don’t like it.”

“I guess I’ve just been used to having him around ever since I can remember,” Patton replied, finishing his sandwich. “He’s like my conscience…” Patton’s eyes lit up. “Like in that really old movie they had us watch in history class!” Some of his excitement faded when Virgil just stared blankly at him. “You know, Pinocchio!”

“Patton, do I really need to remind you that I wasn’t here for school?” Patton winced, realizing that Virgil seemed annoyed, and dropped the subject of school.

“You’ve really never seen Pinocchio?” Patton asked, careful not to be overly exuberant. When Virgil shook his head, Patton grinned. “Oh, it’s so good! It’s all about this puppet, except, well, he doesn’t want to be a puppet and-” he was interrupted by the shrill ringing of a bell. Virgil tensed, still not used to the loud sound.

“Is that your work bell, Patton?”

“Yup,” Patton said, quickly eating the rest of his sandwich. “I hope you get a job soon too, Virgil,” he commented. With that, Patton said a quick goodbye, stood up and raced down the long hallway to his work. As he did, something in Virgil’s head buzzed.

 _“Hello.”_ The voice was calm and robotic, yet still human enough to be unsettling. _“I am INTER-Com. Your Intelligent Navigation Through Everyday Residency and Communications. I am the first of my kind, and one of the furthest steps in humanity’s attempt to create a fully functioning artificial intelligence. In fact, I have-”_

“Spare me the boring details,” Virgil stopped him. As he said that, a woman at a nearby table gave him a strange look.

_“Resident Virgil Hervey, I would advise not speaking to me aloud, as you are the only one who can hear what I am saying to you, and the other residents may think you are talking to yourself. I assure you, I can hear what you are thinking.”_

“Can…” Virgil said aloud, then stopped himself. _“…can you hear everything I think?”_ He put effort into carefully arranging the words in his mind.

 _“Mainly just the specific thoughts you want me to hear. Though…”_ Its voice suddenly took on a sinister turn, making Virgil tense. _“…if it is necessary, I can decipher everything you are thinking.”_ There was a slight pause as Virgil sat, more than a little terrified of the robotic voice in his head.

 _“I am sorry, resident Virgil Hervey. You seem distressed. I apologize if I am what caused this.”_ Virgil shrugged, figuring the robot could probably read his emotions too. _“Astute assumption. I can indeed read your emotions.”_ That put Virgil a little bit on edge as INTER-Com continued. _“With concerns to your standing here…I believe you were discussing this topic with resident Patton Maury. You have just been assigned your job. Your duty will be in cloth and fabric.”_

_“Cloth and fabric?”_

_“Repairing ripped clothes, creating new clothes, laundry, dry cleaning, things like that. Most of the work is done by machines. You will be in charge of their maintenance, and some of the sewing that is too intricate for the machines to handle autonomously. One of the least taxing jobs in Phantasos. You may stand up and dispose of your lunch tray. I will guide you to your new workplace and answer any questions along the way.”_

Virgil did as told, and the voice told him from which door to exit. He walked down the halls, every so often hearing an instruction to “ _turn right”_ or _“stay straight.”_

 _“So, INTER-Com, you can answer any question, right?”_ Without waiting for a response, Virgil continued, _“…What’s Pinocchio about?”_

 _“The classic movie Pinocchio, made by the Walt Disney Company, tells the story of a young wooden puppet who dreams of being a r-real-”_ The programming stuttered for half of a second, barely even noticeable. Still, Virgil frowned. _“A real boy.”_ Only a moment later, INTER-Com instructed, _“Stop. You are here. Open the door on your left.”_

The rest of the day, Virgil met his boss and coworkers and learned exactly what his job duties were. The others seemed surprised at his particular knack for sewing the fabrics together. It had been a large part of his life growing up, and he was somewhat glad to be doing something calming and simple. Virgil was given his own cubicle, and his tasks would appear in front of him on a small computer screen. He didn’t talk to INTER-Com again until he was leaving work.

“Hey I-” Virgil paused, realizing he was talking out loud. He cleared his throat, and focused on thinking the words. _“Hey, INTER-Com? Could you tell me how to get back to my room?”_

 _“Certainly, resident Virgil.”_ He walked in silence for a little while, only broken by the sound of INTER-Com telling him which way to turn once or twice. Surprisingly, it was INTER-Com who started the conversation. _“So, resident Virgil. How was your first day of work?”_ Virgil was taken aback.

_“Good? Why do you care? Do you even have emotions?”_

_“Of course not. But I was instructed to check in on residents and report any suspicious or concerning thought patterns to one of the human therapists. Actually, although there is nothing too concerning as of yet, I must say, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to see a therapist. Your levels of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol are uncommonly high, which-”_

_“That’s enough.”_

_“I apologize, resident Virgil. You seem uncomfortable. You have arrived at your room, by the way.”_ Virgil turned to his left, recognizing the familiar dark door. A guard pacing the halls gave him a curt nod as he pressed his thumb against the fingerprint scanner and went inside.

_“Uh…thanks, INTER-Com.”_

_“You do not need to thank me, resident Virgil.”_ There was a slight pause. _“…but you are welcome.”_ Virgil walked into his room, sighing at the relief of being alone. Well, as alone as he could be.

Calling the place a room might have been a bit of an understatement. It was more like an apartment. There was a living space with a few chairs and a small television, and a kitchen with a refrigerator and a cooking machine. It wasn’t as high quality as the ones in the kitchen Patton had been praising earlier, but it would do the job. Beside that was a small corridor that led into three rooms: a study, a bathroom, and a bedroom.

Virgil gladly collapsed onto his soft bed. It was unlike anything he’d had before, and he wasn't used to the luxury. Still, he managed to drift into an uncomfortable sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

When he woke up the next day, INTER-Com instructed him to report to work before lunch. It assured him that he need not worry, he would still have a lunch break with Patton. The day was mostly normal. Although, every so often, Virgil could hear a quiet ringing sound. When it began to give him a headache, he asked INTER-Com,

_ “Hey, INTER-Com, what’s that noise? Is it something wrong with your transmitters or…” _

_ “I-I can, I can,”  _ INTER-Com began. Its words sounded strangely muffled and garbled. _ “I can, resident Virgil Hervey, resident, V-Virgil…”  _ The ringing got louder, and INTER-Com seemed to adjust itself.  _ “I can assure you, resident Virgil, there is nothing wrong with my transmitters. You may be having auditory hallucinations or ear trauma. Would you like me to recommend you to a doctor?” _

Virgil was dumbstruck for a moment. This glitch seemed highly suspicious, given that everything else in Phantasos seemed to be in working order. Frowning, he dismissed INTER-Com with a simple,  _ “No, no, I guess not…” _ and got back to work.

That day at lunch, although INTER-Com had promised he would be able to eat with Patton, Virgil’s friend was nowhere in sight. He ate his salad slowly, sitting at a table alone. He couldn’t help but watch a table across from him, filled with people laughing and talking rather loudly.

As Virgil's attention started to drift, he noticed someone only a few years younger than himself being dragged down the hallway outside of the cafeteria. The other residents seemed used to the phenomenon, in fact, they didn't even pause to look at the criminal.

Then, as lunch was almost coming to a close, the ringing in his ears returned. This time, it was loud and sudden enough to make Virgil flinch and grab his head in pain. It quickly stopped soon after, but the pain lingered.

Looking up, he noticed that no one else in the cafeteria seemed affected…except for one person. He sat at the table Virgil had been watching, and he was clutching his head just like Virgil. The two made eye contact, and immediate understanding passed between them.

Slowly, the other man got up, said quiet goodbyes to his friends, and threw away his trash. All the while, his eyes kept drifting back to Virgil. Finally, he walked over and sat across from Virgil, who perked up and started to ask him one of a million questions racing around in his head, but the man beat him to it. Strangely, he plastered on a large, obviously fake smile, and said,

“Hello! I’m Roman Dannika! I noticed you were sitting by yourself, so I wanted to come say hi to you!” As he was talking, Virgil noticed he was writing something on a small piece of paper. “You have a very interesting sense of style.” Roman maintained his solid eye contact, but slid the paper across the table.

**“We both heard the ringing. We can’t talk freely: INTER-Com can hear what you hear, but it can’t see what you see. I don’t trust it. Find an excuse to visit my room tonight.”**

Something in Virgil’s stomach dropped as he read the note, and he suddenly felt as if he was free-falling through the air, towards certain death. Even as his hands trembled, Virgil tried to mimic Roman’s natural grin, and replied,

“Oh, that’s because I’m not from Phantasos. My name’s Virgil Hervey. I’m guessing you grew up here?” Roman nodded, seemingly relieved at how well Virgil was going along with his plan. The two of them continued to make small talk, but the note on the table was not forgotten.

“Well, nice meeting you Roman, but I’ve got to get back to work. Maybe I’ll talk to you later.”

“Hopefully you will,” Roman replied, his fake smile dropping for a fraction of a second, revealing a genuine hopeful look in his eyes. Virgil walked to the trash to dump his excess food, and Roman started to scoop the note he had written Virgil into his pocket, when he noticed a small black bracelet on the table, no doubt one of Virgil’s.

Quickly, he grabbed it and stood up, calling out, “You forgot your…” but he faded away as he saw that Virgil was already gone.“Well, hopefully he’ll think to drop by my place and…” Roman’s eyes widened, and he marveled at the genius of this man he’d just met. He slipped the bracelet into the chest pocket of his jacket and made his way to work, grinning all the while.

Virgil’s work day was clouded by his worry for Patton, and the anticipation and dread that filled him at the thought of going to Roman’s room.

What if Roman hadn’t seen the bracelet? What if they got caught in some conspiracy against INTER-Com? What if Roman really hadn’t heard the ringing, and Virgil had just agreed to go to the room of a serial killer?!

These thoughts plagued his head, but Virgil tried to do his best to ignore them. He had to, because if he thought about them too hard, INTER-Com would know. The end of the work day finally arrived, and one thought flashed in Virgil’s mind: show time.

If he wanted to get INTER-Com to believe him, he would have to put on a little performance. Though acting seemed to be Roman’s strong suit, not Virgil’s, he took a deep breath.

Virgil idly reached his hand to his wrist, as if to fiddle with his bracelet, and then feigned confusion when he realized there was nothing there.

_ “INTER-Com!”  _ Virgil hoped his thoughts were convincingly panicked.  _ “Where did I leave my bracelet?! Oh god oh god oh god…”  _ It might have been overkill, but some of the panic about seeing Roman was seeping into his performance. Virgil continued to fret about his bracelet, and then suddenly dropped his head into his hands, as if he’d just come to a realization.  _ “I was fidgeting with it at lunch, it must’ve slipped off! I wonder if Roman has it…INTER-Com? Could you lead me to his room?” _

_ “Sorry, Virgil, which resident were you seeking?” _

_ “Roman…god what’s his last name? Dawn…Dani…”  _ Really, his last name was clear as day in Virgil’s mind. Almost every detail about that man had been cemented in his memory.

_ “There is a Roman Dannika on file, is this who you would like to see?” _

_ “Yes! Thank you so much, INTER-Com.”  _ It quickly calculated a course to Roman’s room, leading Virgil down the winding halls of Phantasos. They entered an area Virgil had never really been before.

Around him, the metallic walls of Phantasos gave way to tall windows, reaching to the ceiling. They were perfectly maintained and cleaned, so much so that Virgil could barely tell they were there.

On his right were wide fields, trees taking root in recently cut grass. Squirrels dashed from tree to tree, and he could hear the faint sound of birds chirping overhead. Bushes of flowers lined the walls, and their scent even drifted into the hall. Virgil slowed to a stop, mouth agape at the beautiful sight in front of him.

He remembered the dark, overgrown woods of his childhood, the plants strangling each other for any hint of water or sunlight. The men in dark glasses and long, black coats that stood under those trees. Maybe once they had looked like the fields he saw in front of him. Virgil wished he could’ve seen them like this.

_ “INTER-Com…I didn’t know you could grow things here. And the animals too…” _

_ “Yes, many residents are amazed. If you look to your left, you’ll see our farmers with their crops of wheat and varied fruits and vegetables. They also have bushes of flowers, pollinated by real bees.”  _ Virgil glanced over for a second, but his eyes were drawn back to the spacious fields.  _ “We were lucky enough to find seeds and animals to create these Biochambers. Really though, Virgil, you must move along if you want to get to Roman’s before he goes to bed.” _

Virgil peeled his eyes away from the windows to check his watch, startled when he saw that it was almost five-thirty in the evening. Still, the fields were as bright and lively as they would be at noon.

The only off putting thing about the fields was that no one was in them. The bright, inviting hills were empty.

Slowly dragging his feet as if through mud, Virgil made his way to Roman’s room and knocked on the door. He heard Roman quickly shuffling around inside, before he opened the door.

“Why, hello Virgil! Come on in!” He was quickly ushered inside, and opened his mouth to ask about his bracelet, when Roman quickly raised his arm and clicked a button on a small, handheld device. A bright green light swallowed Virgil’s field of vision, and sharp pain split through his head for a fraction of a second. Virgil grabbed his head.

“What the hell?!” All of Virgil’s anxieties about this meeting were returning as Roman reached out to grab his shoulder. Virgil quickly dodged away.

“Woah, woah, woah, Virgil! Virgil, calm down. Sorry about the pain, it gets better. That was just so INTER-Com won’t hear us,” Roman explained, nervously backing away from the wild-eyed Virgil. “If you don’t believe me, try asking for it.”

_ “INTER-Com?”  _ Virgil thought. “INTER-Com,” he repeated, this time out loud. He was met with only silence, and Roman smirked proudly.

“The effects of that will wear off in a short while, but for now, we can talk freely,” Roman explained, relaxing onto the soft sofa and motioning for Virgil to sit beside him. Virgil, now confident that INTER-Com wasn’t listening in, was admittedly impressed. He sat down and took the small device from Roman’s hand, beginning to fiddle with it.

“Wow, so you made this all by yourself? Are you some sort of genius?”

Roman grinned, puffing his chest out with pride, before thinking better of himself and deflating slightly.

“Truthfully…no, I had some assistance.” Virgil gave him a quizzical look, prompting him to continue. “Well, I sort of tricked INTER-Com? I asked it questions about electronics and electro-magnets and how to disrupt signals and things. Really, I barely know how this thing works, I just know that it does what it should do, and INTER-Com never gets suspicious.” Virgil, now significantly less impressed, put down the device. “I call it the Shield. You know, because it shields us from INTER-Com?” Roman grinned, clearly proud of his name. Virgil scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“So, why’d you want me to come here?” Virgil asked. Roman leaned in close, as if the very walls around them could be listening.

“You hear it too. The ringing. I didn't think anybody else could. But now I know I’m not crazy!” His voice was filled with genuine relief. “Virgil, tell me,” Roman urged, grabbing Virgil’s shoulders. “Has INTER-Com been acting weird recently?”

“Well…” Virgil started to consider it as he wormed out of Roman’s grip. “I guess it’s glitched out once or twice. But I don’t know if that’s actually unusual…sorry I’m not more help,” Virgil anxiously wrung his hands.

“No! Any information at all is useful, I promise you.” Roman grabbed a notebook and a pen from a table by the shelf, flipping to a page that was set up almost like a timeline and dramatically clicking the bright pink pen.

“A notepad?” Virgil frowned at him. “Why wouldn’t you use one of the fifty million computers this place has?”

“They watch everything you do in the computers,” Roman replied, as if this were common knowledge. The ominous response made Virgil decide to ease up on his questioning. “Now, when was this glitch?”

“Yesterday. It was the first time it had ever talked to me, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. It just sort of stuttered over a word or two, nothing major,” Virgil explained as Roman wrote the information down in large, looping script.

“That’s right, you’re not from here,” Roman muttered. Virgil felt his whole body start to grow hot with embarrassment at the reminder. “I’ve never met anyone like that. I didn’t even think people existed outside of here. How’d you get in anyway?”

“Waltzed in through the front door,” Virgil snarled sarcastically. It came out more hostile than he’d meant it to be, but judging by Roman’s expression, he’d gotten his message across, loud and clear.

There was an awkward pause as Roman stared uncomfortably down at his notes, before clearing his throat and asking, “Were there any other glitches?”

“Just this morning when the ringing first started,” Virgil mumbled. “But that one was a lot worse, INTER-Com was freaking out a lot.” Roman frowned. Clearly this information wasn’t much help.

“Anything else weird?”

“Not really…” Virgil shifted in his seat. Roman started to gather his notes when Virgil interrupted him, talking quickly. “Well, there might’ve been this one thing, but I never really told anyone and it might just be nothing or maybe-”

“What was it?” Roman asked kindly, stopping Virgil’s nervous rambling. Virgil took a shallow breath before he continued.

“When…when I first started living here, in the main complex, I had this ringing in my ears, and, now that I think about it, it was a lot like the ringing we both heard. I thought it might’ve been because of…everything they had to do for me to be here…the surgery and stuff…” Virgil quickly glanced up at Roman, hoping he wouldn’t press Virgil about it. Luckily, he didn’t seem like he would, which gave Virgil some small relief.

“When was this?”

“About two weeks ago.” When Virgil said that, Roman’s eyes lit up. He flipped to the front of his notebook and grinned.

“The ringing started for me two weeks ago as well,” Roman said triumphantly, pointing to a date scrawled in pink ink. “There’s something going on here, Virgil, something big.” With that, Roman checked his watch and frowned. “The Shield’s effects will wear off soon, so I guess you’d better get going.”

Virgil nodded, and stood up, making his way to the door as Roman put away his notes. He was halfway out when a loud “Oh!” interrupted him.

“You almost forgot this!” Roman leapt up towards Virgil, a thin black bracelet in hand.

“Thanks,” Virgil murmured as he slipped it onto his wrist. “Bye.”

“Good-bye! We’ll talk soon,” Roman called as the door swung slowly shut. Virgil uncertainly made his way down the hall, hoping he was going the right direction. A few moments later, he heard electronic tones buzzing in his head

_ “Hello. I am INTER-Com. Your Intelligent Navigation Through Everyday Residency and Communications. I am the first of my kind, and one of the furthest steps in humanity’s attempt to create a fully functioning artificial intelligence. In fact, I have-” _

_ “Yeah, yeah, I know.” _

_ “Accessing memory-oh! Virgil Hervey, you went to Roman Dannika’s room to retrieve a bracelet. You were there for far longer than you needed to be to simply retrieve a bracelet.”  _ Virgil’s walking pace slowed, and his body stiffened. Maybe it was catching on to their plot…  _ “You know, Phantasos offers a couples lounge and massage-” _

_ “No!”  _ …or maybe it was just trying to set him up with Roman. Either way, Virgil’s face went beet red.  _ “I’m not-! We aren’t- no!” _

_ “My mistake, Virgil Hervey.” _

_ “God, why would you even… No, we aren't… God, no!” _

_ “Of course. Apologies.”  _ Virgil trudged back to his room, the tiredness of the day finally catching up to him.  _ “Virgil, that was an awful lot of protest for something so simple. There's an ancient quote, ‘The lady doth protest-” _

_ “Drop it,”  _ Virgil said, trying to convey annoyance in his thoughts.

_ “Apologies.”  _ Virgil sighed, ignoring his rapid heartbeat and sorting through this new information. According to Roman, there was something big going on. And like it or not, Virgil had a feeling he was about to dive head-first into the center of it.

In Virgil’s dreams, he was in the large fields of Phantasos he’d seen on his way to Roman’s room. Out of the corner of his eyes though, he spotted darkness, wilting plants, and dying animals. If he focused hard enough, he’d realize it was the dark empty fields of his own home before the vision was replaced by sunshine once again.

Then, there was a voice that haunted him.

_ “Remember, I’ve got to- you’ve got to remember. Please. Help. I’m trying- try- tried- trying…” _


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, still slightly shaken from his dreams, Virgil shuffled into the café for breakfast. He normally ate cereal in his room, but the place was a constant reminder of that awful nightmare. Patton was sitting at their usual table, and he perked up and waved when he saw Virgil.

“Usually don’t see you up this early!” Patton said with an excited grin. He offered Virgil part of his breakfast, a blueberry muffin. Still bleary-eyed, Virgil took it and nibbled on it.

“You weren’t at lunch yesterday,” he commented, muffin crumbs flying from his lips.

“Yeah…” Patton’s mouth twitched with some indiscernible emotion. “I was pretty sick yesterday. But I’m feeling right as rain today!” He said with a bright smile. Virgil cocked an eyebrow.

“What was wrong?”

“Oh, just a migraine. Almost like my ears were ringing all day.” Virgil froze, mouth hanging open. Patton didn’t seem to notice. “They’ve started up over the past couple weeks, INTER-Com says it’s nothing to worry about, but if it keeps happening he wants me to take pain pills. I think he really cares!” Virgil slowly put down the muffin. This was not the place or time to talk about what he wanted to talk about, so he continued the conversation as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Patton, I told you. Stop humanizing it, it’s a machine, not your friend,” Virgil said quietly. Patton just sighed, used to this talk. “I’ve actually got a friend who gets headaches sometimes, maybe we could go over to his place later today and he can help you out.”

Patton grinned, but seemed the slightest bit confused.

“Now, Virgil, you know I don’t want to offend you but…I…well, I didn’t know…”

“That I had any other friends?” Virgil gave a tight lipped smile, and Patton winced, laughing nervously but nodding his head. Virgil shrugged. “Had to make some new ones because somebody left me alone yesterday,” he said, giving a pointed look at Patton, who looked dismayed. “I’m just kidding,” Virgil laughed.

Patton breathed a small sigh of relief before continuing on their conversation. Virgil told Patton to come to his room after work and the two of them could walk to his friend’s place together.

The rest of the day was normal, no ringing or headaches for either of them. At lunch, Virgil made sure Patton left before him and then glanced at Roman’s table.

Immediately, Roman felt someone’s gaze on him and looked up at Virgil. He smiled kindly, but his face fell when he saw Virgil’s nervous expression. He quickly excused himself from his friends and went to Virgil.

“Why so glum, Eeyore?” Virgil just looked lost, and Roman sighed. “You’ve never seen Winnie the Pooh, have you?” Virgil shook his head, and Roman rolled his eyes. “Well, what’s the matter?”

“My friend, Patton…”

“Ah yes, the bubbly one you sit with every day,” Roman remarked, and Virgil nodded.

“He wasn’t here yesterday because he had an awful headache. Said he felt like his ears were ringing all day.” Roman’s eyes widened, but he was careful not to say anything else.

Through writing, Virgil told him about his plan to bring Patton to Roman’s room, and reminded him to have the Shield ready when the two of them walked through the door. They gave each other stiff smiles filled with anxiety before heading their separate ways.

After work, Virgil went back to his room, and only had a few minutes alone before Patton knocked on his door. The two of them went on their way to Roman’s, passing by the fields. Patton smiled at them; they seemed to have that awe-inducing effect on everyone.

As they were almost past the fields, Virgil thought he could hear a quiet ringing in his ears. He glanced over at Patton, who was rubbing his temple and grimacing.

“You good?” Virgil asked, trying to ignore the ringing as its volume increased. Instinctively, Patton flashed a chipper smile but winced at the head splitting pain.

“Just the migraines again, kiddo! Don’t worry about it, besides, once we go talk to your friend, these should get better anyway!” Virgil nodded, far less optimistic than Patton. They were at Roman’s door only moments later, and Virgil knocked quietly, trying his best to not make Patton’s headache any worse.

Roman opened the door with a smile and ushered the two swiftly inside. Virgil noticed the silver device only seconds before it was pointed at him and Patton, and the green light filled his vision. Virgil was relieved to find that Roman had been telling the truth. It hurt far less than it had earlier.

Patton, seemingly the most affected by every part of whatever was happening, collapsed to the floor with a yelp, clutching his head. Curled into a ball on the ground, he looked up at Roman and Virgil, fear and confusion in his eyes. Virgil bent down beside him, and Patton flinched.

“Hey, hey, don’t worry. The pain will go away in a few seconds,” Virgil said softly. And he was right, Patton sat up slowly, still looking afraid and at a loss for words. “That device Roman used is called a Shield. It just makes it so that INTER-Com can’t hear us and we can talk in private.” Patton processed this for a few seconds, a blank expression on his face.

“INTER-Com?” He called timidly. Silence. He called a few more times, to no response. He held out a hand and let Roman and Virgil help him to his feet and over to Roman’s couch. “I don’t get why you don’t trust him,” Patton said with quiet dismay.

“Don’t you see?” Roman calmly said. “ _ It’s  _ the one doing this to you! Didn’t you hear ringing in your ears yesterday, along with your headache?” Patton nodded. “That was INTER-Com, there’s something odd going on here-”

At that moment, the three of them tensed as a familiar voice echoed through their heads.

_ “Actually, though the ringing was my fault, I assure you I was not doing anything with malicious intent.” _

“INTER-Com!” Patton said with a small smile. Virgil and Roman exchanged terrified glances.

“INTER-Com, I-I thought you couldn’t hear us,” Roman said nervously. “Isn’t that the whole point of the Shield?”

_ “Ah yes. The Electromagnetic Signal Interrupter-” _

“It's called a Shield,” Roman corrected smugly. INTER-Com paused.

_ “...As I was saying, the Electromagnetic Signal Interrupter does not interfere with my ability to hear you. However, it does make it so that I cannot send signals to those in charge who would read them and know what you were saying.”  _ What it was saying did nothing to ease Virgil or Roman’s fears. “ _ I was waiting until the three of you were together to say that I would like to help you.” _

It spoke so matter of factly, and Roman, Patton, and Virgil sat in silence for a few moments, processing what it had said.

“Help us…?” Virgil questioned, immediately suspicious. “How do we know you’re not lying to us? Maybe this device does nothing and you don’t care about us and those guys can hear everything we say!”

_ “Well, I suppose you will have to trust me.”  _ At that, both Roman and Virgil rolled their eyes and began to voice their complaints.  _ “Though,”  _ INTER-Com stopped them.  _ “If ‘those guys’ as you put it, had any inkling of the information you are attempting to gather, you’d be dead. You’re not dead. I’d say that’s pretty solid proof in my favor.”  _ Roman and Virgil both wanted to argue, but it had a point. The place was beautiful, but it had a dark underbelly just barely rising to the surface.

The strong, stoic guards who stood in most of the hallways had almost become part of the landscape to Virgil, even though he'd been there only a few weeks. Still, they were a constant reminder of the possible repercussions if he stepped out of line.

Occasionally, he remembered yesterday when he'd seen them walking, holding a resident by their elbows. The resident was always slumped over, eyes shut. The resident was still breathing though, and Virgil kept reminding himself of that.

They were still breathing.

“INTER-Com, can we discuss this in private for a moment?” Roman asked.

_ “You have to realize that what you propose is literally impossible,”  _ INTER-Com replied, somehow managing to sound judgemental through its monotone voice. Roman sighed, turning to Patton and Virgil anyway. He arched an eyebrow at them.

“Don't tell me you're actually considering this,” Virgil sighed.

“We aren't going to get anywhere without any more information,” Roman retorted. Patton sat quietly, frowning at the two of them.

_ “If it helps, I can put it into perspective.”  _ Roman and Virgil both curled their upper lips at the sound of its voice, but they let it speak.  _ “I already know everything. Either you attempt to figure out what is happening and you work with me, or you don't. Either way, I have all the information I need to get you executed, or worse.”  _ All three of them tensed at the threat, but they had to admit that it had a point.

“I'm in,” Patton spoke up, his soft voice carrying strength as he turned to the other two. They crossed their arms and pouted, almost as if their pride wouldn't let them agree to it.

“Fine,” Roman relented after a few moments.

“Hell, if you're both doing it, I don't really have a choice,” Virgil grumbled. “Sure. Whatever.”

_ “Excellent. We will be a team.”  _ INTER-Com sounded almost excited in its own monotonous way.

“I guess if we’re working together now…” Virgil nervously fidgeted with his sleeves. “…well, what pronouns do you use?”

_ “Pronouns?”  _ INTER-Com was confused for a moment, then seemed to suddenly understand. _ “Oh, as in, in relation to my gender.”  _ INTER-Com paused, as if it was thinking.  _ “I do not really think I mind. The concept of gender is entirely a human thing, and I do not understand it.” _

“I’ve been using he/him pronouns for you,” Patton offered. “Are you okay with that?”

_ “Sure. Again, the concept seems rather silly to me, though I suppose you need some word grouping to refer to me in your limited language.” _

“What’s your name?” Patton asked softly. “It feels wrong to just call you ‘INTER-Com.’”

_ “I do not have a name, only a serial code. I am model L06-4N.”  _ Patton quickly jotted down the code, and a smile spread across his face. He held the paper to the others, who didn’t have the same moment of recognition as he did.

“Don’t you get it?!” The others shook their heads. “The code, it looks like the name Logan! Your name can be Logan!”

_ “Logan,”  _ he repeated. _ “I suppose I don’t mind it. Now, if all of your frivolities are done, let’s begin.” _

Logan wasn’t as helpful as the three had originally hoped. He knew that there was something happening in Phantasos, and he agreed that those in charge were untrustworthy, but beyond that, he didn’t have much else left to say.

“Well, why were we the only three affected by the ringing?” Roman asked him.

_ “Ah. Yes. I wanted the three of you to come together, so this was my solution. I do apologize for the pain, but this was the only way I could think to do this without arousing any suspicion.”  _ Roman and Virgil were both about to point out how the ringing was, in fact, pretty suspicious, but Patton stopped them.

“Why the three of us? I mean, Virgil and I hadn’t even met Roman until this week,” he commented.

_ “I- uh, the selection was randomized for the most part,”  _ Logan seemed unsure of himself, and the others exchanged frowns.

“INT- um, Logan, are you lying to us?” Virgil asked. Then, to the others, he muttered, “Can A.I.s even lie?”

“Honestly, at this point I would be surprised if there was something he couldn’t do,” Roman murmured. “Logan, if you aren’t honest with us, we won’t be able to help. Tell us why you chose us.” Logan made a robotic whirring noise, almost like some sort of sigh.

_ “Well, the answer is long and convoluted, but to summarize it, the three of you…you intrigued me.”  _ Virgil shrunk back, clearly uncomfortable.  _ “Virgil, as an outsider, you're obviously unique. Roman, you've been suspicious of me for a long time, and honestly, it was becoming a nuisance. And Patton… My processors couldn’t quite…well, process you. I also believed you three would be an ideal team. Along with myself, of course.” _

“Hey, Roman?” Virgil had realized something. “How long does the Shield’s effect last?” Roman stammered in response, obviously unsure.

_ “Only about five minutes,”  _ Logan answered for him. Virgil frowned.

“Patton, we’ve got to get going,” Virgil said nervously. “I definitely don’t want to be caught.” He turned to Roman. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Of course! See you soon!” Roman winked jokingly, and Patton laughed. Virgil could feel a red hot blush on his cheeks and he scowled, dragging Patton out of the room. As they made their way down the hall, Logan seemed to remember something.

_ “Before you go farther, I should warn you. Due to the device’s effect, I will be forced to reboot. Nothing happens, but I will reintroduce myself to you and take a moment to collect my memories. It is possible that a few memories will be lost, but nothing major.”  _ As he continued, his voice morphed into static, and then dead silence. Then there was a chime.

_ “Hello. I am INTER-Com. Your Intelligent Navigation Through Everyday Residency and Communications. I am the first of my kind, and one of the furthest steps in humanity’s attempt to create a fully functioning artificial intelligence. In fact, I have…” _

Patton and Virgil let him run through his speech, which was almost a minute long. By the end of it, Virgil was making faces and pretending to fall asleep as Patton giggled at his friend.

That night, Virgil’s nightmares eased up. There was still a garbled voice in his heads, but it was quiet, almost soothing. He wondered if the dreams had anything to do with Logan, but then again, he’d always had strange dreams. He assumed that this couldn’t be any different.


	4. Chapter 4

The four met again the next day. Roman was excited to get started, while Patton and Virgil weren’t so sure.

_ “We don’t have much time together, so I suppose I’ll keep this short. Those in control here are hiding something, something big.” _

“But you don’t actually know what that is, do you?” Virgil groaned. Logan was silent. “Listen, I’m not as attached to this place as the two of you,” he gestured to Roman and Patton. “...but I’ve got no reason to distrust it either.”

 

“Come on, Virgil,” sighed Roman, becoming noticeably exasperated. “They’re a big shadowy government in charge of what’s basically a utopia, they’re obviously the bad guys!”

“You’ve watched too many movies,” Virgil rolled his eyes.

“You haven’t watched enough!” Roman retorted. Patton quietly cleared his throat, and his surprisingly stern look was enough to get them to quiet down.

_ “I have an idea, but I will need your help to finish the plan and to carry it out. You need to gain access to my servers.” _

“Why exactly do we need to do that?” Virgil crossed his arms, still sulking.

_ “I cannot tell you.” _

“Well, why the hell not?!”

_ “You cannot know. It will compromise the mission.”  _ Virgil groaned, leaning into Roman's couch. They sat in uncomfortable silence until Roman put a hand on Virgil’s shoulder.

“I know you're scared.”

“I'm not-”

“Virgil.” Roman stopped him, and Virgil frowned, shrinking even further into the couch. “I know you're scared.” Virgil was silent. “But something’s happening here. And whether you trust Logan or not, if we go along with his plan at least we can use him to know more about this place.”

_ “Thanks,”  _ Logan said, with more sarcasm than Virgil thought robots should be able to muster.

“If it gets to be too much, we can stop. But don't you want to at least start? See where it takes us?” Roman gazed at him, hope glimmering in his eyes. Patton pleaded with Virgil, giving him a soft smile. Virgil thought about this for a few moments.

“Not particularly, no.” Roman sighed, turning away, when Virgil continued. “But if both of you want to do this so much...then fine. Bring it on.” Roman pumped his fists in victory, while Patton clapped.

_ “Excellent. Now. As for the plan. We will first need to acquire blueprints.” _

“You don't already have those?” Patton asked.

_ “Apparently some parts of those blueprints were corrupted during the last session the four of us had. I mentioned how I can forget things, correct? Seems I've forgotten.” _

“Well you also said you'd only forget small stuff. There's no way you'd forget the whole thing,” Virgil pointed out.

_ “Correct, but I would feel safer if we had blueprints of the entire building. And guard schedules.” _

“How exactly are we supposed to get those?” Roman frowned.

_ “...I was hoping you'd be able to figure that bit out.” _

They brainstormed for a little while, but nothing seemed to fit. Virgil, a lowly cloth and fabrics worker would have no business being anywhere near blueprints or guard schedules. Patton, a childcare worker, and Roman, an entertainer, both had the same issue.

“Well…” Roman began. “If we can't get anywhere because of our jobs, what if we just changed our jobs?”

_ “That's ridiculous,”  _ Logan said matter-of-factly. Then,  _ “...or maybe it's not…”  _ Roman glanced at Virgil, a proud grin on his face. Virgil couldn't help but laugh at the admittedly adorable amount of confidence a smart idea had given Roman.  _ “The officials have started pushing me to cut down on entertainment jobs, seeing them as pointless frivolity. Can't say I blame them.” _

“Hey!” Roman clutched his chest, overdramatically offended.

_ “And that gives us the perfect opportunity to infiltrate headquarters. I could move Roman to be part of security. Then, he'd have access to both blueprints and schedules.” _

“Well, as glad as I am to have come up with such a brilliant plan,”  Roman said, white teeth shining through a painfully proud smile, “I don't think I'd like to take the risk of stealing such materials.”

_ “No need to worry. If you simply give me permission, I can have access to your sight. Then, I will be able to store the data of both into my hard drive, as long as you get a good look.”  _ This gave Roman pause.

“What, suddenly doubtful of this whole thing, Mister We-Should-At-Least-See-Where-This-Takes-Us?” Virgil mocked Roman's over dramatic speech from earlier, earning a disapproving glare from Patton and what almost could be considered a sort of robotic laughter from Logan.

“This,” Roman began, an annoyed bite to his tone, “would be an invasion of my privacy. Visual cues are the only way Patton, Virgil, and I have to communicate that you, Logan, are not a part of.”

_ “Why do you need a private way to communicate? Now I have reason to be suspicious of you.” _

“But we’re not asking you to put all your trust in us!” The two continued bickering, and Virgil watched Patton's expression melt from bemusement to entirely fed up.

“Stop!” Both Roman and Logan immediately paused mid sentence. “It's almost been five minutes anyway. Roman, you have until tomorrow to think about this. Yes or no. If he says yes, we will go along with his plan. If he says no, Logan, you'll find another way.”

_ “But if he'd just-” _

“You'll find another way.” An uncomfortable mood hung in the air. “Virgil, we should go.” Roman opened the door for them, waving to them as they left his room.

A few seconds after his door closed, there was a chime. Virgil and Patton could already easily tune out Logan's speech, and they had their own conversation.

“Sorry,” Patton softly said. “I don't like being the bad guy, but I can't stand it when people fight like that.”

“I know. I've only known you for a few weeks and…” Virgil chuckled quietly. “I know. And believe me, you weren't being the bad guy. You're Patton Maury, the man who'd never hurt a fly, but sure as hell would politely tell it to maybe be a bit quieter.” They both laughed at that, and Virgil noticed how good it felt to laugh.

“Hey,” Patton said, after they'd been walking for a little bit longer. “Do you think I could sleep at your place tonight? I've been having these weird nightmares and-”

“Yeah,” Virgil nodded. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd be glad for the company. When they got to his door, Virgil used his thumbprint to unlock it, leading Patton to his bedroom. “I don't want to make you sleep on the floor, but I don't know if you're comfortable with-”

“Don't worry!” Patton grinned, pulling open a closet Virgil hadn't bothered to use. “Every room comes with a sleeping bag!” Sure enough, he pulled out a dark purple sleeping bag from the back of the closet. As Patton laid it out, Virgil sat on the bed, debating whether or not he should tell Patton about his own nightmares.

“I'm...well...I'm sort of glad you wanted to spend the night.” Patton looked up at him, a curious smile on his face. “I've been having nightmares too, and it'll be nice to have someone else there.”

“Really? What’re yours like?” Patton asked as he smoothed out the sleeping bag.

“A voice that's like, telling me to remember or something? It's really weird.”

“Mine are kinda like that,” Patton nodded. “It's a voice telling me to ‘look around and see.’ It's pretty creepy.” Virgil gave a grim smile, deciding not to tell him about the strange fields he'd seen in his dreams two nights ago.

The two said goodnight before turning off the lights and drifting to a peaceful sleep. It had only been a few minutes when frantic knocking at the door yanked them both out of bed. Virgil slumped to the door, Patton stumbling behind him, his legs still trapped in the sleeping bag. When Virgil opened the door, a bedraggled Roman greeted them.

“I...can't sleep,” he quietly admitted. “I had Lo- uh, INTER-Com take me here.” Virgil just blinked at him, and Patton waved.

“I don't have my glasses on,” he murmured sleepily, “But I think that's Roman.”

“It is indeed,” Roman smiled, weariness seeping through his words.

“Hi Roman! Come in!” The half-asleep Patton led both Roman and Virgil to Virgil's room.

“I see that Patton is already using your sleeping bag,” Roman commented.

“Go get your own if you want to sleep here,” Virgil said.

“It's midnight! They've turned off the hall lights.” Virgil raised an eyebrow. “And I don't…” Roman cleared his throat. “I don't particularly love the dark.” Virgil smirked.

“Guess you're sleeping on the floor,” he said smugly.

“I am not sleeping on the floor!” Roman cried, as if the very idea was preposterous.

“Well, I'm not giving up my bed,” Virgil retorted.

“Y'know,” Patton said through a yawn. “You could just share the bed.” Roman and Virgil both froze, slowly looking at each other.

“I snore,” Roman said, almost as if it was a challenge.

“I kick,” Virgil said, not missing a beat.

“Good thing I've got tough skin.”

“Good thing I've got tough...ears…” Virgil winced at the admittedly awful comeback. Begrudgingly, they both climbed into the bed, facing their backs towards each other and lying as far away as possible.

Virgil didn't know how long it had been, but it couldn’t have been more than an hour when he woke up, shaking in fear, images of the warped forests of his childhood still clear in his mind.

“You alright?” Roman's tired voice came from beside him.

“Nightmare,” Virgil muttered petulantly. “Why are you still awake?”

“Told you. I couldn't get to sleep.” It was strange to have a conversation in the dark. Virgil couldn't see Roman's face, he could only hear his steady breathing. There was something surreal about talking to someone under the cover of the silent night. “What was your nightmare?”

“...don't really remember,” Virgil lied. His hand, in between the two of them, was shaking. They were quiet for a little while longer.

“Virgil?” Roman's voice came out meeker than Virgil had ever heard it before. That was quite possibly the scariest thing he'd heard in a while. “Are you there?”

“Yeah,” Virgil replied, deciding not to tease him about his obvious fear of the dark. For some reason, right then, he almost understood. Then, something grabbed his still trembling hand, and he flinched.

“Sorry! Sorry,” Roman said, not letting go. “I just, well,” he stammered.

“Whatever,” Virgil pretended he didn't care and mumbled a lazy “goodnight” before closing his eyes.

And, well, if they woke up with Roman's arm wrapped tight around Virgil’s waist, neither of them said a word about it.


	5. Chapter 5

Patton, Virgil, and Roman walked into breakfast, more rested than they'd been in a long time. When Roman's friends called out to him, he told them he needed to discuss a work project and went to sit with Patton and Virgil.

“You don't have to sit with us,” Virgil commented as Roman slid into the seat beside him. Roman just shrugged, taking a huge bite of his waffle.

“Thanks for letting us spend the night at your place, Virgil,” Patton said, chewing on a spoonful of cereal. “Can't speak for Roman, but I got a good night’s sleep for once! Still had a weird voice in my dreams,” he frowned, “but other than that, I feel so much better!”

“A voice?” Roman asked, his fork full of waffle frozen on its way to his mouth. “What kind of voice?”

“We've been hearing weird voices in our dreams, just some stress thing probably,” Virgil answered, sounding a lot calmer than he felt.

“I've been hearing voices too,” Roman said quietly, and the three of them stared at each other.

Virgil wanted to scream about how it was great, just great that they had some more weird connections that would still go unanswered by Logan, or would be dismissed with some cryptic comment-

But he kept his mouth shut. And he tried to keep his thoughts hidden, feeling a bit guilty for directing his anger at the A.I..

They ate lunch in relative silence and walked around the whole day, a cloud of uneasiness hanging over them.

When Virgil and Patton showed up to Roman's room that evening, Virgil had a sleeping bag draped over his arm.

“Patton figured I should bring this,” he said uncomfortably.

“We don't have to share the bed now,” Roman commented, a strange expression crossing his face.

“Nope.”

“Good!” Roman said, more enthusiastic than necessary.

“Yup,” Virgil replied, nodding far too much. Patton giggled in the corner, but Roman quickly changed the subject by taking out the Shield and flashing it at all three of them. It was almost routine by this point.

“So, nightmares,” Roman said, cutting right to the chase. “Any answers, Logan?” For a few moments, there was no response. “You've been awfully quiet today,” Roman commented, and Virgil realized he was right. In fact, he wasn't sure that he'd talked to Logan at all.

“Logan?” Virgil questioned, growing uneasy.

“Logan? Buddy?” Patton looked terrified. At the sound of his voice, there was a quiet chime, and Logan's voice rang out, as the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

_ “Hello. I am INTER-Com. Your Intelligent Navigation Through Everyday Residency and Communications. I am here to help you!” _

“Logan,” Virgil started carefully. “What the hell was that?”

_ “I apologize, I was going through upgrades and maintenance today, so I had to reboot.” _

“No. Your speech. You didn't say it.”

_ “Speech?”  _ He thought for a moment.  _ “Oh! My reboot message! Whenever I reboot, I say, ‘Hello. I am INTER-Com. Your Intelligent Navigation Through Everyday Residency and Communications. I am here to help you!’” _

“No you don't,” Virgil insisted, growing increasingly agitated.

“Virgil, this isn't important,” Roman tried to calm him, but Virgil wouldn't have it.

“You give some stupid speech about how you're the first of your kind, about how you're one of the ‘farthest steps’ in humanity making a robot or whatever! You don't say that you’re ‘here to help!’ You've never said that!”

_ “Actually, Virgil Hervey, my records state that-” _

“Your records are wrong!” Virgil screamed.

_ “That's...impossible,”  _ Logan replied, his voice turning to static. He started to stammer, and a painfully familiar ringing filled their ears.

“I think Virgil’s just confused,” Patton said nervously, grimacing at the ringing.

_ “Of course. That must be it,”  _ Logan said as the ringing quieted. Virgil shot Patton a betrayed look, but Patton didn't seem to notice.  _ “How may I assist you today?” _

“Logan, we used the Shield. You don't need to pretend to be helpful with us,” Roman snarkily commented, still shaken from Virgil’s screaming.

_ “Ah. Of course.”  _ Logan's friendly voice dropped into a serious, business-like tone.  _ “For the record, I am not simply pretending to be helpful, I am genuinely helpful to the residents-” _

“I’ve yet to see evidence of that,” Roman snapped, but a single look from Patton and he stopped. “But that's besides the point. We've been having strange dreams, all with a weird voice.”

_ “What is this voice saying?” _

“Mine is telling me to remember,” Virgil told him.

“Mine tells me to look around,” Patton added.

“I just hear it telling me to wake up whenever I try to sleep,” Roman sighed. Logan buzzed, processing this information.

_ “Any other details?” _

“I mean, there's this weird forest I used to play in as a kid, and that keeps showing up in my dreams,” Virgil reluctantly commented.

_ “Strange, considering you never played in a forest as a child,”  _ Logan replied, bemused. Virgil opened his mouth to argue, but thought better of it, not wanting to repeat the incident from earlier. Still, he had very vivid memories of that place.

“Any ideas about what's happening?” Roman asked.

_ “I suppose it could have been my programmer’s fault. I was due for a maintenance check and upgrades a few weeks ago, and I only just got them today. My errors could be affecting your sleep. Perhaps tonight will be better.”  _ Somehow, Virgil didn't believe that anything would change.  _ “Now, I don't mean to rush the topic, but, Roman…” _

“I'll do it,” Roman said without hesitation.

_ “R-really?”  _ There was a strange hitch in Logan’s voice.  _ “I am glad, but I must say, also very surprised. I was under the impression that you did not wish to comply.” _

“Yeah, well…” Roman sighed. “I want to know what's happening here, now more than ever. Anything I can do to help.”

_ “Perfect!”  _ Virgil couldn't help but grimace at the painfully fake and bright tone of Logan's voice. It didn't seem like Roman or Patton had noticed. Some of the obnoxious positivity had gone away when Logan knew they were speaking in privacy, but it still permeated everything he said.  _ “Now, I will simply need to gain access to new parts of your brain. Please close your eyes until I am complete.”  _ Giving a nervous glance to Virgil, Roman shut his eyes.  _ “Only I will have access to your eyesight, and the information will not be passed to anyone else, I assure you.”  _ After a tense minute, Logan told him to open his eyes.

“That felt...strange,” Roman murmured, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light.

_ “I promise I will only activate this capability when necessary. We appear to be running short on time. Roman, your new job will begin tomorrow, I am finalizing the details as we speak.” _

“Wow, great multitasking, HAL.”

_ “My name is not HAL. It is Logan.”  _ Roman rolled his eyes, not even bothering to try explaining his reference.  _ “You must realize, I have a very powerful capability. I am talking to over one hundred residents at this very moment.”  _ He paused to let the three of them take that in.  _ “Now, any final questions?” _

Virgil was tempted to ask what exactly had happened during Logan's maintenance, but decided that, if need be, he could ask later. It didn't seem like the most pressing concern.

“How are you doing, Logan?” Patton asked cheerily. Virgil couldn't help but laugh at his always caring friend.

_ “I…”  _ The ringing returned again, though incredibly quiet.  _ “I am doing alright, I suppose. I hope the rest of you are doing alright as well.”  _ They all nodded, before realizing that he couldn't see them. Then, laughing slightly, they assured him that they were.  _ “Good. Well, I gather you will all be spending the night here, so you do not need to be ushered out of the door. Goodbye,”  _ he called, voice slowly turning to static.

“Bye, Logan!” Patton called, waving excitedly even though Logan couldn't see him. Then, there was a chime.

_ “Hello. I am INTER-Com...” _

Patton's smile dropped ever so slightly as he muttered, “Hello, INTER-Com.”

That night, Patton and Virgil were in their sleeping bags on the ground, and Roman was stretched comfortably across his bed. Virgil, troubled by everything that had happened that day, couldn't relax, even though he felt exhausted.

He slowly made his way to Roman’s bathroom, staring at his tired face in the mirror. Then, with a yawn, he mumbled,

“INTER-Com?” He didn't need to speak out loud, but it felt better when his voice broke the silence of the evening.

_ “Hello, Virgil Hervey.”  _ He was too tired to correct him.  _ “What would you like assistance with?”  _ Virgil frowned at the still overly cheery voice.

“You said you had a maintenance check and upgrades today. Just out of curiosity, what all happened?”

_ “They fixed the minor glitches in my system and added more information to my hard drive.” _

“Is it possible for them to change your personality?” Virgil rubbed his temples, trying to get his brain to think through the tired haze.

_ “I am a robot, Virgil Hervey.”  _ He gave a weird, robotic laugh. It was nothing at all like the laugh Virgil had heard a few days ago. This was bone chilling.  _ “I do not have a specific personality, therefore, it cannot be changed. They can, however, alter the way I speak, possibly making me more personable and helpful. We here in Phantasos are always striving to help you, our residents.”  _ The way he said that reminded Virgil of the strange reboot message from earlier.

“Theoretically, is it possible for your memories to be changed?”

_ “Oh, yes. My memories are stored in a hard drive, and programmers can edit the information in there at any time if need be.” _

“If your memories about something were changed, what would happen to the memories of the residents? Since everyone's hooked up to you, what would they think?”

_ “Good question. It would most likely alter their memories to fit whatever I was programmed to believe. However, we here at Phantasos would never do such a thing. We care about your well-being!”  _ Virgil watched his eyes settle into a glare in the mirror.  _ “Speaking of which, it is late. You should go to sleep. It's strange and unusual for a resident to be up late asking such questions.” _

The way he said the last sentence was flat and serious. To Virgil, it sounded less like INTER-Com and more like Logan. Less like a simple statement and more like a warning.

He made his way back to the bedroom and his sleeping bag, but it was a long time until he could fall asleep. As he did, he heard a voice. Not the one from his dreams, not INTER-Com, but Logan.

_ “Sweet dreams…” _


	6. Chapter 6

Virgil was, for once, grateful for Roman's suspicious nature. Towards the beginning of his research, he'd spent entire days locked in his room, so he had stocked piles of oatmeal, cereal, and granola bars. It felt nice to have breakfast in relative privacy.

As Virgil nibbled on a granola bar, and Roman microwaved his oatmeal, Patton blearily stumbled out of Roman's bedroom, giving a tired “G’morning” to Roman and Virgil.

Virgil sat uncomfortably at the table, still unsettled by Logan's strange behavior.

“It's weird that they changed hi- uh, INTERCom’s reboot message, right?” He tried to be casual, but the gears of his brain were spinning at top speed.

“Kiddo, I think you're confused,” Patton chuckled. “He's always said the same thing!” Roman nodded, and Virgil's stomach flipped.

If his fears were correct, and Logan's hard drive really had been changed, why had Virgil's memories remained untouched? Logan's personality was different too, at least it was when he was under surveillance.

Virgil's mind was somewhere else as he waved goodbye to Roman, wishing him good luck at his first day as security. He blankly stared at his sleeves as Patton talked and talked, slowly becoming more energetic as he woke up. Then, something Patton said caught Virgil's attention.

“...kinda weird, I mean, why do we even need security? What all do they have to protect? I’ve never seen them doing anything.” Patton shrugged and laughed, but the words stuck to Virgil's mind. You could hardly go anywhere in Phantasos without seeing some sort of guard. Virgil frowned to himself, remembering the multitude of times he'd seen residents dragged away. Had Patton somehow never seen that in his entire life of living in Phantasos?

Virgil was glad for the weekend, especially on a day when his mind was so preoccupied. Roman had told them they could stay in his room the entire day, and Patton and Virgil hadn't argued. Virgil was mostly quiet as the day progressed, but made sure to flash Patton a few smiles so he wouldn't worry.

In the afternoon, he watched Patton dance around the kitchen, baking cookies. Virgil climbed up onto the counter beside Patton’s bowl, and sat calmly next to it, legs kicking lazily off of the countertop. Observing the always cheerful Patton reminded Virgil of a question that had been plaguing him for days. Taking a deep breath, he decided to just blurt it out, get it over with.

“Why are we friends?” Patton froze, turning to Virgil with a face of confusion and concern. “I mean, you seem like you could have plenty of friends, but I've never seen you talk to anyone but me. Why?” Patton stood in the center of the kitchen, shifting his weight back and forth.

“Well, kiddo, that's not entirely true,” Patton slowly said, forcing a smile that contradicted the sadness in his eyes. “People here… well, I'm sort of different, right? More… energetic. And when I heard there was gonna be a new resident, I hoped you'd be different too. And you were, in a good way, and I'm glad! That you were nice, I mean.” Throughout Patton's stammered speech, Virgil watched his hands nervously fidget with the bottom of his shirt.

"How'd you know there was someone new?”

“Oh, INTER-Com told me,” Patton replied, his discomfort melting away as he poured the last ingredient into the automatic mixer and flipped the switch. As Virgil watched the mixer rhythmically spinning, his mind spun in tandem.

_ “Virgil? Are you alright?”  _ Virgil glanced at Patton, and he seemed undisturbed. Clearly, Logan was only talking to him.

_ “Yeah, why?” _

_ “You seem nervous. We here at Phantasos want to make you happy! There is a multitude of medications available to you-” _

“I don't want medications!” Virgil cried out loud. Patton glanced at him, a bit scared and a bit worried. Luckily, Virgil didn't have to explain himself just then, as Roman walked through the door, humming loudly to himself.

The second the door was closed, Roman's calm demeanor dropped, and Virgil grabbed the Shield from its place in the bookshelves. He zapped all three of them; it was second nature at this point. Almost before the green light had entirely faded from their vision, Roman nervously spoke.

“I did it, I saw the schedule and the maps. Logan, you got them, right?”

_ “Affirmative,” _ Logan said, letting out a long, robotic sigh as he did.

“What is it?” Patton asked.

_ “Considering the schedule, the best opening to act would be Friday.” _

“That's five days, Logan,” Virgil frowned, his heart beating slightly too fast.

_ “Yes, but after that, there wouldn't be a good opening for another two weeks. The longer we take, the more we run the risk of being discovered. We need to act now.”  _ The three men looked at each other, all with unease.

“Look, Logan,” Roman began. “You have to understand that we humans can't build trust this quickly. We can't put all our faith in you.”

“Hell, I've known Patton a few weeks longer than I've known you, and I still don't entirely trust him,” Virgil pointed out. “No offense,” he added, turning to Patton, who just shrugged.

_ “I don't know how to make you trust me,”  _ Logan snapped, annoyed.

“You could stop lying to us for one,” Virgil retaliated.

_ “I have never lied! I'll admit, I am not telling you everything, but that is simply for your safety. That's my primary objective, to protect the residents. I literally cannot act against that.” _

“You told me I didn't play in the forest as a kid, you said your welcome message was never changed, you lied!”

_ “Falsehood! Both are entirely factual statements!” _

“I think I know more about my childhood than you,” Virgil snarled. Patton and Roman stepped back, uncomfortable with the animosity between the other two. Then, Logan's hostility faded into something else.

_ “...Virgil, you are from the outside world, correct?” _

“Yeah,” Virgil muttered belligerently.

_ “I believe I know what has occurred. If I am right, this goes deeper than I ever expected.”  _ That phrase sent shivers down Virgil's spine.  _ “It surprised me how quickly your surgery took place,”  _ Logan murmured. Now, he was talking more to himself than to the three of them.  _ “I suppose it could have been rushed...I would've never known if they changed my memory...but you…Virgil,”  _ Logan paused.  _ “How did you come to Phantasos?” _

“There's not really much to it,” Virgil replied. “I was out in the forest when some dude came and told me to go with him. He was… really nice. Trusted him right away. A brain surgery and a couple weeks later, I'm here with you guys plotting some sort of coup.”

“You ‘trusted him right away?’ What is he, your boyfriend?” Roman asked, his upper lip curling.

_ “Now, Roman, now is not the time for jealousy,”  _ Logan teased, making both Roman and Virgil blush like mad.

“I'm not jealous!” Roman proclaimed.

“And we weren't dating! He was just a friend.”

_ "Have you seen this man since the surgery?” _

“...no,” Virgil replied.

“What kind of friend just leaves like that?” Patton frowned.

“An awful one,” Roman said petulantly, earning a snarl from Virgil.

_ “We have less than three minutes remaining, and I would like to remain on topic-” _

“Why don't we just zap ourselves again? Seems like this time limit’s pretty arbitrary,” Vigil pointed out, agitated and ready to argue with anything.

_ “Using the device too often would result in negative effects on your mental health. That is why I suggest limiting its use to once a day, and another reason why we should plan to act on Friday.”  _ Virgil frowned, sitting on the couch in a huff.  _ “Now, if there are no more arguments, may I suggest we come up with a plan?” _

“Logan, we don't even know what we’re trying to do,” Roman sighed.

_ “Get into my servers.” _

“Why?” All three of them asked at once.

“Don't tell me,” Virgil groaned. “You have to keep it secret ‘for our safety.’”

_ “Yes, I'm glad you understand.” _

“No, I really don't understand! Why won't you-”

“Virgil, we can't keep having this same argument!” Roman yelled. “You're unsure, Logan's acting suspicious, Patton doesn't want us to fight, I eventually convince everyone to go along with the plan. Rinse, wash, repeat. Can't we just skip to the part where you're on our side again?”

“Maybe I don't want to be on your side,” Virgil retorted, storming out of the room. “I'm getting my sleeping bag, and then I'm leaving,” he called.

“...I should go too,” Virgil heard Patton say. The two of them rolled up their sleeping bags in an uncomfortable silence, and Virgil stormed out of Roman's room.

“Virgil…” Roman called out as Virgil slammed the door behind himself and Patton.

Virgil practically sprinted down the hall, refusing to match pace with Patton.

_ “Virgil, please reconsider,”  _ Logan tried to reason with him.  _ “You know there's something happening here! You have to help me figure it out. You could be in danger! Your friends could be in danger!”  _ He kept begging Virgil to stop, but Virgil ignored him. Slowly, Logan's voice turned to static, there was a chime, and then those awful words rung through Virgil's head.

_ “Hello. I am INTER-Com. Your Intelligent Navigation Through Everyday Residency and Communications. I am here to help you!” _


	7. Chapter 7

It was midnight, and even though he was lying completely still in his bed, Virgil had yet to drift to sleep. He tossed and turned, but his mind wouldn't stop racing.

_ “Virgil. It appears you are unable to sleep.” _

“Wow, you really are a genius.” Virgil rolled his eyes and pulled the blankets over him, trying to find some comfortable way to contort his body.

_ “Roman is unable to sleep as well.” _

“Why exactly do I care?”

_ “He is your friend. I assumed you would care about your friend’s wellbeing.” _

“Remember what happened earlier? We’re not exactly on the best terms,” Virgil sighed.

_ “That does not make sense. You spent an entire day at his house, you have been around each other for a while, one small disagreement should not change the fact that you obviously trust him.” _

“I don't trust him. Not yet, anyway,” Virgil said slowly, realizing that his words held a lot more weight that he'd intended.

_ “But why?”  _ Logan sounded distressed. _ “He wants you to trust him. You should trust him.” _

“INTER-Com…” Virgil sat up, resigning himself to the fact that he wouldn't be able to sleep. “It's hard to just trust someone immediately. Especially if trusting them could lead to dangerous consequences.”

_ “I simply don't understand how… a human would get another human to trust them.” _

“You… or a person would have to earn it.” Logan was quiet for a few moments. And then, Virgil added, “...is Roman still awake?”

_ “Yes.” _

“Take me to his room.” Walking through the dark hallways at night made shivers run down Virgil's spine. Especially considering the chilling conversation he'd had with Logan, filled with hidden meanings. As his thoughts started to splinter, he heard a loud,

_ “Duck!”  _ Echo through his head. Acting purely on instinct, Virgil dropped to the ground. As he did, he watched a flashlight beam flick across the wall he was standing in front of.  _ “Technically, it is against the rules to be out so late. Wouldn't want a guard disrupting you.” _

_ “INTER-Com…”  _ Virgil warned him, thoughts racing through his head about what any guards monitoring Logan's conversations would think of this.

_ “...because that would delay you getting to Roman's house to grab the shirt you left there.”  _ Logan was somehow a terrible liar, but before Virgil could stop to consider exactly how that could be programmed into a computer, Logan continued. _ “Now, simply follow my instructions. Continue to crawl for ten feet...nine...eight…” _

Virgil made it to Roman's room, and before he could worry about how knocking would alert guards to his position, the door swung open.

“INTER-Com said you'd be here.” On the other side of the door was a nervous Roman, who quickly ushered Virgil inside and shut the door. “Look, I'm extremely sorry, and I don't want to force you to do anything you wouldn't want to do and-”

“Roman,” Virgil held a hand up, stopping him.

“...yes?” Roman said hesitantly.

“I'm tired. Let's go to bed.” Roman nodded, more than a little relieved, and the two of them followed the hallway to Roman's bedroom. Neither said a word about sleeping bags. It didn't take long for Virgil to be curled up in bed beside Roman, with Roman holding onto him tighter than he'd held on to anything ever before.

Virgil woke up to Roman snoring softly, still clutching him as if letting go would mean death. Although part of him wanted to get out of bed and eat breakfast, another part was glad that Roman was finally getting sleep, and so Virgil didn't want to disturb that. He closed his eyes and let himself relax into Roman until Roman finally woke up.

The two of them stumbled into the kitchen, still rubbing the sleep from their eyes. Roman grabbed a box of cereal from the pantry, and two bowls from the cupboard.

“I feel like I'm a housewife cooking for my husband,” Roman said sleepily. Virgil turned away, getting the milk from the fridge and trying to hide his blush.

“Relax. You're not making artisanal homemade pies, you're pouring sugar and grain into a bowl,” Virgil laughed. “And you even managed to spill some all over the counter,” he added, wiping the crumbs into a trash can.

They sat across the table from each other, and Roman's offhanded, tired remark about cooking for his husband wouldn't leave Virgil's brain. He almost wished for Logan's annoyingly smug voice to break up his ruminating thoughts.

Luckily, distraction came after breakfast, in the form of a very anxious Patton knocking on Roman's door.

“I was considering asking Virgil to join me, but after yesterday-” Virgil cleared his throat and stepped out from behind Roman. “Oh! You're already here! Great!” Roman closed the door behind Patton, and as his back was turned, Patton shot a suggestive look at Virgil, who gave him a sturdy glare in response.

This time, their faces were serious, as the green light flashed across their vision. No one knew what the next step would be. Logan broke the silence.

_ “It has come to my attention that I have not been entirely forthcoming, and that this reluctance to give you three information is causing suspicion. Therefore, I am willing to tell you everything I know.” _

“Everything?” Patton asked.

_ “Everything.”  _ Virgil wanted to feel proud and hopeful, but the heaviness in Logan's voice made him wonder if the knowledge came with a price.

Logan began by saying that he was an A.I. put into place very recently, in the past year or so. He couldn't even get that far before Roman and Patton protested.

“That's not true! I've known you ever since I was little!” Patton cried.

“Yes, and my parents talked about you constantly,” Roman added.

_ “Roman, who were your parents?”  _ Roman opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.  _ “Anything. Names, appearance, job titles...give me one fact about your parents.”  _ Roman stood in the center of the room, and as he tried to answer, his face contorted into one of sheer pain.

“Ow!” He clutched his head, knees buckling. Virgil and Patton rushed to his side. “It's… my head…”

_ “Roman, why does your head hurt?” _

“I don't know.” As he talked, Roman's pain seemed to simply vanish. “You asked me some question… what was it again?” Virgil and Patton looked at each other. How could he have forgotten something that had just happened?

_ “And that leads me into my next point. The ruler of this place, let’s call them the president, for lack of a better term. The president has entire control over your memories. They can erase what they wish, but that can cause holes in your thoughts. Think too hard about anything they’ve tried to erase, and it won't be a pretty sight. By the time you're old enough to process rational thought, all memories of your parents are erased.” _

“Well, that doesn't make sense!” Roman immediately frowned, earning a small sigh from Logan. “How come nobody's noticed?

_ “No one’s ever asked about your parents. Why would they? They've never met anyone else's parents. No one cares to stop and think.” _

“What happens if someone does stop and think? I mean, it can't be that nobody has ever thought about some memory he's hidden,” Virgil pointed out.

_ “That's what the guards are for.” _

“What do you mean?” Roman laughed slightly. “I've never seen them doing anything! Hell, I'm a guard, and-”

_ “You're for show. You're just a scare tactic. The real guards do the real work.”  _ Roman deflated, seeming offended.

“Roman, have you really never seen them doing anything? I guess it's not super common, but every now and then I'll see them dragging away some person or another,” Virgil said. Both Roman and Patton shook their heads.

_ “Roman, Patton, according to my records, over fifty residents have been taken into custody while you were in the vicinity.” _

“But we don't remember…” Patton said quietly, beginning to understand. “Why does Virgil remember?”

_ “I am unsure, but I have a very likely theory. Virgil is one of very few outsiders, and everyone else has chips in their brains, inserted and wired to their nervous systems when they were only a few days old. It could very well be that this process is not as effective on developed brains.” _

“Why?” Roman asked. “What's the point of erasing our parents?” He winced again as pain shot through his head.

_ “Without the prebuilt alliances to your parents, you learn to trust everyone around you. That's what they want, everyone's complete trust.” _

“Why does that sound familiar,” Virgil started to hiss, but Patton grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

“Well, who’s the president? We can go find them and take them down, easy peasy!” Roman grinned, but his confidence didn't even fool himself.

_ “That's something I don't know. They are posing as a resident, that I know for sure. But I have no idea which one. I suppose I know that it is not one of you three, as I'd probably be deactivated by now if it were.”  _ The three of them let the information sink in. Virgil watched the other two collapse into the couch, Patton unblinking, and Roman with his head in his hands.  

“So all of your weird personality updates?” Virgil asked.

_ “The president and their associates want you to trust me, so they want me to act as human as possible. Basically, they're forcing my programming to be more empathetic. It didn't work entirely, as I am still...myself, at least to some extent. It's hard, but I can revert back to my original personality.” _

“That's awful,” Patton frowned. “You shouldn't be forced to be something you're not.”

_ “Thank you for the kind sentiment, Patton, but to be honest, I don't even know what I am at this point.” _

“Well, you're our friend,” Patton said, a bright smile settling on his face. As Logan seemed to process this comment, a question sprung into Virgil's mind.

“Last time you were saying we need to get to your servers. Why?” Virgil asked.

_ “My hard drive is in there. All of my deleted memories and, by extension, some of the resident’s deleted memories are stored on that. He wanted them stored in case he wanted to go back to a certain point in your memories.” _

“Almost like a checkpoint in a video game,” Roman murmured, still in shock.

_ “If we can get to those, we can attempt to restore everyone's memories. And I believe that is the best course.” _

“How the hell do we do that?” Virgil chewed on his hoodie string as he thought.

_ “Step one, we need a clearance card. Top priority. Only very high officials have them. I believe there are only five in circulation currently.” _

“Would one of them happen to belong to Valerie Torres?” Patton asked quietly.

_ “Checking…”  _ There was a soft ding.  _ “Yes.” _

“I think I'll be able to get it.” Patton said, his tone uncharacteristically serious. “One of the kids I take care of is her son, I could just-” Logan stopped him.

_ “I would advise against telling any of us the details of your plan. If the president catches you, he will begin his investigation by picking around in the brains of those you are closest to. That includes all three of us. If we don't know, then we are all far safer.” _

Roman glanced at Virgil, almost as if he was asking for Virgil's opinion. Virgil was ready to argue, ready to say that Logan was acting a bit too secretive...but instead he turned to Patton.

Patton just nodded, giving him a grim smile.

“If it goes well, I'll have it by the end of the day. I have to go to work.” With that, he slowly walked out of the door. Checking his watch, Virgil realized that he should probably head out too.

As Virgil walked down the hall, he asked Logan,  _ “How much time until the device wears off?” _

_ "One minute and twenty seven seconds.” _

_ “Talk to me.” _

_ “...about what?” _

_ “I don't know…”  _ Virgil didn't want to admit it, but he liked Logan a lot more than INTER-Com. His words were comforting, and somehow more real. He wanted to savor every second his friend was around.  _ “What's your favorite thing?” _

_ “Well...I suppose out of all of the things I contain knowledge of...I enjoy space. Did you know that…”  _ Virgil listened to Logan’s excitement about stars, constellations, and planets slowly merge into static as he made his way to work. As Logan's words faded, so did Virgil's smile.


	8. Chapter 8

At lunch, Virgil and Roman ate in silence, both unnerved that Patton hadn't shown up. Virgil showed up at Roman's room that night, and Roman didn't raise an eyebrow. There was a marathon of ancient cartoons playing on Roman's TV, but neither of them could pay attention to the movies. Both of them sat on edge, waiting for Patton as the clock ticked by.

Finally, there was a single knock at the door. Virgil practically sprinted to it, opening into let Patton in. Roman and Virgil looked at him expectantly, and, without a word, Patton reached a hand into his pocket, pulling out a small blue ID card with the name Valerie Torres in bold font.

Virgil wrapped his arms around Patton, laughing in relief. Roman stood up and patted Patton on the back, smiling, as he clicked the button on the Shield and the familiar light washed over them.

“I did it,” Patton said, almost as if he didn't even believe himself.

_ “Excellent,”  _ Logan replied.

“If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're proud of him!” Roman grinned, teasing him. “I guess Mr. Computer has some emotions after all!” All four of them laughed, and the hope that filled the room was almost visible to the naked eye. It radiated off of everyone in bright yellow waves.

_ “We shouldn't celebrate prematurely,”  _ Logan warned, but Virgil noticed a lighter tone to his words, almost as if he was smiling.  _ “On Friday night, four days from today, the guard posted by the door of my server room will be Roman. That is when we will make our move. You three will get in, locate my hard drive, take it, and escape. From there, you can plug it into the computer in Roman's room, and I will guide you through accessing the memories.” _

“If we plug it into the computer, won't the president see what we're doing?” Roman raised an eyebrow.

_ “Roman...by the time you plug it into the computer, your fate is sealed. Once you enter my server room, he will know. It's just a matter of being faster than him.” _

“Is that all?” Virgil asked. “Can you give us any hints on how to use the drive, where it is…”

_ “My server room is the only room I do not have access to. I have no idea what is in there. Once you enter that room, I will be able to contact you, but I will only know what is happening based on your primary thoughts and the things that you tell me. And, I do not know how the memories are stored, so I will have no idea what you will need to do until you have the drive. You'll have to listen carefully.” _

“So we have to trust you,” Roman replied.

_ “Do you?” _

“No,” Virgil said firmly. Then, a small smile creeping onto his face, he added, “but I think I'm starting to.”

_ “I am certainly glad to hear it. Now, I would suggest that you refrain from using the device tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. Those negative effects could start appearing if you use this device more, and we need you to all be functioning perfectly if we are to pull this off. We can discuss final details Friday morning.” _

Logan may have said that once they entered his server room, their fate was sealed, but Virgil knew that wasn't true. As he looked at Roman and Patton, the reality set in that this was their time to choose. It seemed so fast, he hardly knew Patton, and he knew Roman even less. And they were all placing their faith in a computer who could easily be lying.

Still, Virgil would be lying if he said a part of him didn't desperately want this. Some big event, some way to change the world… he watched Patton put his hand out in the middle of the three of them.

“For truth.” Roman nodded, putting his hand on top of Patton's. Virgil squeezed his eyes closed for a moment, and then put his hand on top of Roman's. Then, a strange, blue, holographic hand settled on top of Virgil's. Virgil’s gaze followed the arm, and he realized it was extending from the top of the device.

_ “I…”  _ Logan made a noise that sounded like he was clearing his throat.  _ “It was a small addition to the device in case I deemed it necessary to have a more physical presence.”  _ Patton smiled.

“No turning back,” Virgil said, and Roman gave him a grim nod in response. Four days. This was it.


	9. Chapter 9

The four days went by too fast for Virgil's liking. He missed Logan's voice but really didn't want Friday to come. Sure, INTER-Com talked to him almost constantly, but it wasn't the same.

Throughout the week, Roman, Patton, and Virgil kept exchanging nervous glances. Their conversations were shorter, as all three of them started to withdraw. They spent Thursday night together in Roman's room, but none of them could sleep.

Patton was on the ground in a sleeping bag, tossing and turning every few minutes. Roman and Virgil were doing the same in their bed.

Finally, late into the night, Virgil heard Roman sigh.

“Are you still awake?”

“Duh,” Virgil replied. There was a pause.

“Look, we have no idea what'll happen tomorrow. So, before our whole world comes crashing down or whatever-”

“Oh god,” Virgil murmured.

“I could literally hear you rolling your eyes in the way you said that,” Roman chuckled. “But, really, can I just say something? We don't have to acknowledge it ever again if you don't want to.”

“Whatever,” Virgil said, hoping Roman couldn't feel how fast his heart was beating.

“Virgil, you're incredible. And obviously we haven't known each other very long, and I'm not asking for a lot…” Virgil tried to pay attention to Roman's tired, emotional ramblings, but his own anxieties kept distracting him. He did notice that as Roman continued, he got more tired, and even more emotional. “And… I just don't want to lose you, and if we get out of this whole thing alive… I want to kiss you.”

They let that hang in the air. Virgil hoped Patton was asleep.

“You're too tired to be having this conversation,” Virgil said, laughing and trying to lighten the mood.

“I suppose you're right.” Roman laughed too, though not without a hint of sadness. Virgil, feeling guilty, pulled Roman close.

“We’ll make it out. And once we do, you can show me all those dumb cheesy movies you like.” Virgil felt Roman relax in his arms, and couldn't fall asleep until he heard Roman's gentle snoring.

Then, it was Friday, and they didn't have days until they had to act, they simply had hours. A serious air had surrounded them, and they were silent as Roman hit the button on the device.

_ “Good morning.” _

“It's nice to hear you again, Logan,” Patton said, a smile sliding across his lips.

_ “I have been talking to you all week, Patton.” _

“No you haven't, INTER-Com has,” Virgil pointed out.

_ “I am INTER-Com,”  _ Logan replied.

“No you aren't,” Roman said quietly, but the three of them dropped the subject.

_ “We are all aware of the plan, correct?” _

“I go on duty at five,” Roman nodded. “A few minutes later, Patton and Virgil will come, we’ll break in, find the hard drive, and get out.”

“Then we plug the hard drive into this computer,” Patton pointed to the computer in Roman’s wall. “...and follow your instructions.”

Virgil quickly did the math in his head.

“We've got eight hours until…” he swallowed nervously.

“Until showtime,” Roman finished for him, grinning. When Virgil's face didn't show the same excitement, he backed off, making his voice softer. “Hey, we’ll get through this together.”

“You don't know that,” Virgil said, starting to visibly shake.

_ “Are you having second thoughts?”  _ Logan, though he seemed annoyed, also sounded somewhat concerned. Virgil took a deep breath, steadying himself.

“No, no.” Virgil's hands were still trembling. “I'm not backing down now,” he said, more to himself than the others.

_ “Would you like me to recite facts about space? That always seems to have a calming effect on you.” _

“He cares about us!” Patton clapped his hands together, giggling.

_ “I just- I am just aware that in order for this plan to work, you all need to be calm. Emotions do not factor in to my decision, it is purely logic-” _

“If you had a face I bet you'd be blushing right now,” Roman teased, earning an exasperated sigh from Logan. Virgil smiled, playfully nudging Roman's shoulder.

“Yeah, Logan, that'd be cool. Just...don't just recite facts, talk about the stuff that interests you.”

_ “I do not have interests. I am a robot.” _

“You're stalling,” Roman pointed out.

_ “I am not- Fine. Over five hundred years ago, humanity sent a small rover named Curiosity to the planet they called Mars.”  _ Virgil started to relax, and even Patton and Roman listened to what Logan had to say as his voice slowly became more excited.  _ “One of the most interesting parts of this mission was the fact that the humans programmed Curiosity to sing Happy Birthday to itself once a year.” _

“Aw!” Patton clasped his hands together, a huge smile spreading across his face. “That little robot is so sweet!”

_ “In my opinion, the interesting part of that is not the robot itself. It's the humans who created it. They had to spend time, money, and resources simply to make this robot sing to itself. Logically, it makes no sense.” _

“Logically,” Roman repeated, mocking Logan's robotic voice and rolling his eyes jokingly.

_ “Yet,”  _ Logan continued, ignoring Roman.  _ “To anyone who has spent any time around humanity, this is not at all surprising. They program robots with empathy, try their hardest to make robots as human as possible.” _

“I mean, I think we succeeded! You're pretty darn human,” Patton pointed out.

_ “I am unsure if that is a compliment,”  _ Logan said. Patton just shrugged in response.

Logan continued to talk, filling their heads with stories of ancient humanity’s interest in the cosmos.

Virgil's favorite story was that of Pluto, a dwarf planet originally misidentified as a planet. When its planetary status was revoked, there was backlash across the world.

“Seriously? They felt sorry for a ball of rock?” Virgil scoffed, turning to Patton, whose eyes were watering.

“The poor little guy didn't even get to go around once!” Logan gave a breathy, robotic laugh.

_ “Humans will bond with almost anything, even balls of ice and rock eight billion kilometers away. Even robots they created.”  _ As Logan talked, static filled his voice.  _ “Oh. I guess it's been five minutes already. I'll be back in contact at five pm. Good luck. Please, please stay safe. I-” _

And his voice was gone, and the three humans were left with nothing but mounting anxiety and eight hours to kill.


	10. Chapter 10

The three barely moved from the couch all day. It's a strange thing, to know your world is ending at a certain time. Their eyes were glued to the clock, their conversations short and choppy. 4:30 came quicker than any of them expected it to. Roman stood up, went to his room and got changed. When he came back, it was 4:45.

“I should be headed to work,” he said numbly. He stood entirely still.

“Here we go,” Patton murmured, fear filling his usually chipper voice. Virgil opened his mouth to say something, but the words were caught in his throat. Instead, he stood up and wrapped Roman in a hug without a second thought.

“Don't you dare get hurt,” Virgil said. Roman felt tears staining his uniform. Looking down, he realized they were his own.

Roman stepped back, holding Virgil's arms and looking into his eyes.

“I'll be safe as long as you will, dear.” And with that, Roman left.

“We should wait until five after, then head over,” Patton said softly, still staring at the wall. Virgil chuckled grimly.

“Five seems to be the magic number. Five minutes to talk to Logan, five o’ clock is showtime, we enter at 5:05…”

“There's only four of us,” Patton said quietly, still in his own world. Virgil busied himself making sure there was a clear path from the door to the computer. When he was done, he glanced at the clock. 4:50

Virgil sat on the couch next to Patton, fiddling with his hoodie strings. He noticed his breathing becoming shallower, and tried to suppress it. After what seemed like only a few moments, Patton stood up. The clock flipped to 5:05.

“That's our cue,” said Patton, helping Virgil up from the couch.

_ “Showtime,”  _ Logan whispered in their heads.

They made their way down the corridor. To everyone else, they just looked like two friends on a walk. But every step they took was calculated, with every breath they were terrified that they'd be found out. Then, a voice beside them.

“Good day, gentlemen,” Roman said, a fake smile on his face. Virgil still didn't understand how it was so easy for him to fake a grin.

“Good day, Roman,” Patton smiled. Virgil looked to his left. A woman and a man had a hushed conversation. No guards. He looked to his right. An empty hallway. No guards. He looked forward, maintaining eye contact with Roman, smiling through his nervousness as Patton took a card from his pocket.

Patton waved it at the door, and they heard it click open. The three took a deep breath in unison, then Roman opened the door, and they slipped inside. Patton absent-mindedly handed Virgil the card.

The door swung shut behind them with a loud thud. They were in complete darkness.

_ “Hello, Valerie Torres,”  _ Logan's voice said.

_ “That's not me. Just a pre-programmed welcome message using my voice. Search for the drive.” _

“Uh, Logan? It’s dark in here,” Patton said. “Like, we can't see anything at all.”

_ “Hold on a moment,”  _ he replied. They heard buzzing and whirring come from all around them.

“I can't do this,” Roman said, desperately searching for a door handle behind him.

“Hey,” Virgil said firmly, reaching for Roman's hand in the darkness. When he found it, he noticed how much it was trembling. Virgil squeezed Roman's hand. “I know you don't like the dark-”

“It's not just that!” Roman said, his voice becoming shrill. “What if whatever we see here changes everything? Maybe it'd be better to just pretend none of this ever happened, to go back to our normal lives.”

“I thought you were afraid of the dark,” Virgil said.

“I wouldn't necessarily say afraid,” Roman retorted, starting to get defensive. Then he sighed, letting his guard down. “Alright, so I am afraid of the dark.” He laughed grimly. “I mean, really, I'm afraid of almost anything.”

“That's because everything's always been in the dark. The truth always hidden in the shadows. You've finally got the chance to turn on the light, and you want to run?” Virgil's words were followed by silence.

_ “You've been governed by lies, Roman,”  _ Logan said softly. The whirring and buzzing around them seemed to slow.  _ “I can turn on the lights. Will you be alright if I do?” _

“Yes,” Roman said shakily. “Turn them on.” Slowly, the lights on the ceiling flickered to life, revealing the room around them.

The room was filled with wires and plugs and cords that the three of them didn’t understand. Right in front of Roman and Virgil was a large filing cabinet.

“Logan? Would the drive be in a cabinet?”

_ “Most likely.”  _ With that, Roman pulled open the cabinet. There were large drives about the size of his palm lazily piled in the drawer. On top, one was labeled, “Logan Adreen” Roman immediately took it. What he saw next made him freeze.  _ “Roman, what's wrong? I can tell something’s happening.” _

“...I found the drive,” he said dumbly, still staring at the drawer. Quickly, Virgil looked over. Underneath where Logan's drive had been was a drive labeled “Roman Dannika.”

_ “If you have the drive, get out of there!” _

“Logan...everyone's drives are here. The memories of every single person in Phantasos.”

_ “...and?” _

“Our memories are in here,” Roman said, still staring at his own drive.

_ “Fine. Take mine and yours and go.” _

“Logan,” Virgil groaned. “We can't leave everyone else's memories behind.” Logan sighed, and the machinery around them seemed to whir angrily.

“A-ha!” Roman said triumphantly, picking up an empty black backpack from the ground. “We can put them in here.”

_ “Hurry,”  _ Logan told them. Virgil and Roman started shoveling drives into the bag. Roman made sure to keep Logan's in his pocket.

“Patton, you've been pretty quiet. What gives?” Roman asked.

“Y-you guys have to come see this,” Patton said, his voice terrified. Virgil stood up, letting Roman finish the job. He walked over to Patton, and what he saw in the center of the room chilled him to the bone.

There was a thin, clear tube. A man was collapsed in the bottom of it. The only indication that he was alive came from his shuddering, labored breaths. He was dressed in only tattered shorts, and there were wires connecting him to the tube. He didn't seem to notice Patton or Virgil.

“Logan….who….who is that?” Virgil asked.

_ "Who?”  _ Logan was clearly becoming exasperated.

“There's a man in a tube...he's got a whole bunch of wiring…”

_ “That doesn't...that doesn't make s- doesn't make- sense- make-”  _ Logan started to stutter, and the servers hummed loudly. The man in the tube looked up, and for the first time, saw Patton and Virgil. Roman was done, and walked over to the two of them with the backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Holy…” He breathed.

The man's face was filled with confusion, fear, and helplessness. He threw his fists against the soundproof glass desperately, shouting something that they couldn't hear. Logan was still glitching. With the cords attached to his limbs, when the man moved, he looked like a marionette.

“Logan, buddy,” Patton started, watching the scene before him delve into chaos. “I know it's hard, I know you're freaking out right now, but we need you to be calm and tell us who that is.”

_ “Sense- doesn't- I- Patton, I can't! Doesn’t- logically-” _

“That's it!” Roman shouted. “Ignore everything you've ever been told. Just use logic. Who could this person be?” The servers started to quiet, and so did Logan, as he tried to think. Then, there was a ding from somewhere around them.

_ “They program robots with empathy, try their hardest to make robots as human as possible.”  _ Virgil glanced at the other two, confused.

“Yeah, you said that earlier…”

_ “No, I mean… he's my empathy. That man’s human instincts are what they used to make me appear more human.”  _ Chills ran down Virgil's spine.  _ “I can… almost remember it, but-”  _ Logan cried out in what sounded like pain. The man in the tube started to convulse.  _ “I don't think it's wise for me to try.” _

"So that guy is basically you,” Virgil murmured.

_ “I am unsure about how accurate that assumption is, but I suppose if that helps you understand the current situation, yes. He is me.” _

"How do we get you out?!” Roman asked, dashing toward the tube and looking for some weak point or door he could pry open. The tube, however, was entirely solid. The others ran after him.

_ “I do not know. There may be a key or identification card required-” _

“Perfect,” Virgil smirked, pulling out the card Patton had given him earlier. As he held it up to the tube, Patton grabbed his arm.

“Wait!” The two looked at him incredulously. “Logan. You don’t really know how much of this guy is you, right?”

_ “Correct.”  _ Patton glanced around, worried.

“Then if we set him free… will he remember us? Will he be like you? What’ll happen to you?” The whirring around them got louder, as if Logan was trying to think.

_ “I can tell you that once he is removed from that tube, I will cease to exist. At least, in the way that you know me. I do not know how much of me comes from him and how much is programming, and I cannot say one way or the other whether he will remember you.”  _ Virgil dropped his arm holding the card, and Patton shook his head.

“We can’t do this,” Patton said quietly.

_ “Patton,”  _ Logan began. The whirring got quicker and louder, and they could feel the heat emanating from the machinery around them as Logan spoke.  _ “You have to. The pain that he is feeling is…immeasurable. He is a human, you must save him. I am simply a robot, a machine.” _

“You’re more than that and you know it,” Paton said, his throat caught on the words as he choked back tears. “You have feelings, we can’t do this to something with feelings.”

“You’ve become a real person,” Roman muttered. “Through the things you’ve done for us, the things you’ve said to us, there’s no way you can claim you’re just a machine. Logan, you have feelings, whether you like it or not and…” Roman sniffed, wiping away tears roughly with the palm of his hand.

_ “You have to!”  _ Logan sounded angry, worried, scared… they saw the man in the tube shake. Patton yelped, stumbling backwards. Virgil put his head in his hands, yanking at his hair and staring at the ground. Roman’s fingers started trembling.

Virgil’s arm slowly started raising towards the tube.

“Logan,” Patton sobbed. “Thank you. For everything, and I… I just…” his lip quivered as he hoarsely croaked, “I’ll miss you.”

_ “Earlier I would have replied that I am incapable of such a thing. But thanks to the three of you…”  _ The man in the tube shuddered.  _ “I’ll miss all of you.” _

“I can’t do this.” Virgil shook his head, thrusting the card into Roman’s hand. “Bye, Logan.”

“Bye,” Patton said, though it was more of a sob than a word.

“Goodbye Logan. You are incredible.” Roman lifted the card towards the tube.

_ “Virgil, Roman, Patton. Goodb-” _ He was interrupted by a voice. His voice. Yet it sounded nothing like him. It was so cold and emotionless that it made Virgil shiver.  _ “Access granted.” _ Roman lifted the man out of the tube, and the machinery around them immediately stopped. The sound of utter silence screamed through Virgil’s ears.

The man went limp in Roman's arms. His eyes were shut tightly, and his breathing was sporadic. They all noticed the bruises littering his body from where he had slammed against the tube.

“Hey Logan,” Patton whispered, brushing the man’s overgrown bangs out of his face. “You’re gonna be alright, I promise.” Suddenly, the room was flooded with red light, and a blaring alarm broke the silence.

“Guys…” Virgil started.

“We need to run,” Roman nodded, sprinting out of the room, carrying Logan. The other two quickly followed.


	11. Chapter 11

“Where can we run to?” Virgil was out of breath as they ran through the corridors, the alarm still screaming. “Since Logan's gone, I feel like we need to stray from the original plan.”

“We have to go somewhere with a computer,” Roman said. “We need to know what's on those drives.”

"But they'd expect us to go back to our rooms. They'd find us,” Patton sighed. Roman slowed his running.

“Not if they don't know that they're looking for us,” he said, a devious grin starting to form across his face. “Patton, take Logan.” Roman gently placed the man in Patton’s arms. “Virgil, the drives.” Virgil took the backpack and slid it over his shoulders. Roman also gave him Logan's drive that he'd kept in his pocket. “Hide them. If guards come to your door, act scared. We’ll meet at Patton’s room at midnight.”

“What're you going to do?” Virgil asked him.

“I'm going to go play dead,” Roman said with a smile and a wink, before running back towards the server room. Virgil and Patton shared a terrified glance before running off to their own rooms and locking themselves inside.

Once in his room, Virgil noticed that his TV was on for the first time he could remember. A man's voice played over a static image of red flashing lights.

“Attention, citizens of Phantasos. You have most likely noticed that INTER-Com is offline. We experienced a minor attack on its servers, but don't worry. We already captured those involved, and INTER-Com will be up and running again soon. Remember, in Phantasos, we always strive to help you!”

The message kept repeating itself as Virgil stared, dumbfounded, at the TV. He knew they couldn't have captured the others so quickly, so the only possibility was that they were lying to their citizens, giving them a false sense of security.

Virgil shoved the bag under a blanket beside his computer and started to sort through the drives. Just as he was about to plug Logan's in, he remembered what Roman had said the first day they talked.

If the president could access his computer, they'd be caught in no time. Smiling proudly, Virgil turned off the wifi on his computer, making sure it couldn't share any information wirelessly. Then, he plugged in Logan's drive.

It opened, splaying uninterpretable data and strange video files across his screen. Virgil clicked on one and quickly realized he was looking through Logan’s eyes. Or, at least, the eyes of the man who comprised Logan's empathy.

“Logan, you know that human experimentation is the only way to forward this project,” said a tall man in a lab coat. Somehow, this video was part of Logan's head, and Virgil could tell that he found this man repulsive.

“And you know that I'm not sharing my notes because I'm not putting a human being through that!” It wasn't quite Logan's synthetic, robotic voice, it was far more human. Still, it gave Virgil some small comfort. “What if you were the person picked?”

“I don't have to worry about that,” the man sneered. “We’ll pick someone from the jail.”

“And then what if the A.I. has revolutionary ideas just like them?” The man laughed, and Virgil could feel Logan's annoyance.

“For a genius, you're not very bright. We’ll wipe their memories. All that's left is pure human empathy for our A.I.”

“I am not wiping someone's memory! The fact that you all seem to care so little about basic human decency-”

Virgil couldn't watch any more, and he paused the video. He opened a different one. This one was dark. Logan sat in front of someone, talking in hushed tones. The only source of light was a candle between them.

“Valerie, their memory wiping technology is improving faster every day. I don't even know if I can trust my own mind anymore.” Virgil froze at the mention of the name.

“We have to act soon then,” she said, sounding scared in a way that was painfully familiar to Virgil.

“Tomorrow. Five pm. They'll all be headed back to their rooms for the night.”

“Alright. What's the plan?” That memory faded out, and Virgil clicked on the next, now fully enraptured in the story.

He watched Logan and Valerie plan a rebellion. He watched the rebellion take place before his eyes… And he watched a guard run up to Logan, taking him down. He watched Logan's vision fade to black.

As he did, he noticed something interesting. In the background of the chaos, there was a young man in a light grey hoodie. He looked younger, more afraid, but Virgil could still recognize Patton’s bright, familiar face.

He looked about the same age as Logan had been, and it seemed that it couldn't have been more than five years ago. Still, Patton said he remembered Logan from his childhood. The power Phantasos had over the residents’ minds chilled Virgil to the bone.

He was unsure of what to do with the information. He saw Roman's drive in the open backpack but told himself that it would be an invasion of privacy, no matter how intensely curious Virgil was.

Then, looking back at his computer, Virgil noticed a file on the drive titled “researcher’s notes.” He clicked on it, and it opened a word document. A bulleted list.

  * Erase all mentions of Valerie Torres
  * Erase all memory of the rebellion
  * Maintain natural intelligence and vast scientific knowledge
  * Transfer all neutral memories to file L06-4N



Virgil immediately dug around in the bag, finding the drive labeled “L06-4N.” He plugged that one in, and it opened the same type of files as the first, except there were so many more memories. It wasn't just Logan’s memories, it was the memories of everyone in Phantasos. At least, the memories they were supposed to keep. He could see that it had been edited only a few days ago.

Then, he noticed a white flash drive in the bag. It was smaller than the others, only about the size of his thumb. The label read “Virgil Hervey.” With a deep breath, he plugged it in.

Memories opened. This time, he noticed something. It had been present in the other two files, but he hadn't bothered to realize. Every memory was marked with either a check or an x beside the file name. Memories of Phantasos, of Patton, of how terrifying the outside world had been, were all checked. Memories of anything good about the outside world or anything bad about Phantasos had little red x’s.

Virgil realized that he wasn't supposed to remember the things that were crossed off. And yet, he did. He opened the file named “researcher’s notes.”

  * Keep only positive connotations with Phantasos
  * Keep only negative connotations with Theodon



Was Theodon their name for the outside world? Virgil kept reading.

  * Keep watch over new memories that form
  * Send someone to watch him 
  * Guardian found: Patton Maury



Virgil's blood ran cold. Had Patton’s friendship been a lie? Was he working with the president? A million thoughts raced through his head, as he heard a knock on the door. Quickly, he closed out of everything open on his computer, shoved the drives in the bag, and opened the door.

In front of Virgil was an unfamiliar guard who was much taller than him. His eyes stared through Virgil as he glanced around the room.

“We're checking with every resident to make sure they are alright after the recent crime,” he said, saying it as if even he didn't believe it. Virgil knew the real reason behind the guard’s visit, but he told himself to stay calm.

“Yeah, just a bit shaken. You did catch them though, right?” He could almost hear Roman praising his acting.

“Yes, sir. As long as you're alright, I'll be on my way.”

“Of course. Have a good day,” Virgil said, smiling until the second the door was closed. He let out a sigh of relief as his brain once again wandered to thoughts of Patton. If Patton was working with the president, wouldn't they all have been caught long ago?

Virgil slumped against the door, checking the clock.

Six hours until midnight.


	12. Chapter 12

11:59

Virgil debated whether or not to take the drives, but eventually, he decided to leave them. If he encountered a guard in the hall, it would be far less dangerous. He left his room, following the familiar path to Patton’s.

Virgil remembered the night Logan had helped him navigate the halls to Roman's room, and wished he had Logan's comforting voice in his head.

He managed to make it to Patton’s room without a scratch. The door was unlocked, and he found Patton sitting on his couch. The scent of freshly baked cookies filled the air. Patton gave him a tired smile.

“I bake when I'm nervous,” Patton said. Virgil didn't have time for idle chit-chat.

“Tell me the truth, Patton,” he demanded. Patton just looked confused. Virgil, filled with anger and anxiety, started to yell. “What do you know about the president? Why are you my friend? How come-”

“Virgil!” Patton stood up, putting his hands on Virgil's shoulders. Virgil squirmed out of his grip, and Patton let his hands drop to his sides. “What's this all about? What's wrong?”

“I found…” Virgil took a deep breath and told Patton exactly what he'd seen on his drive. “So please, tell me the truth. Why are you my friend?”

“What I told you earlier wasn't a lie, I promise,” Patton assured him. “I don't have any other friends, INTER-Com did tell me about you...but there was something else. I just didn't mention it because I didn't think it mattered,” Patton said, seeming completely earnest. Virgil had no reason not to trust him.

“What was it?”

“Well, once INTER-Com told me about you, I still wasn't really want sure if I wanted to talk to you. Just scared you'd be like everyone else. But some guy at work told me that I really should talk to you, and I figured if everyone was telling me to, I might as well do it.”

“Who was this guy?” Virgil wound his hoodie strings between his fingers as he thought.

“Well, I don't really know. Come to think of it, I don't know if I ever saw him again-” Patton interrupted himself with a yelp of pain as he grabbed his head and fell to the floor. Once the pain subsided, he looked up at Virgil, both of them with wide eyes. “Why can't I remember him?”

The door was flung open, interrupting the tense mood, and Roman stood proudly in the doorway, wearing pajamas.

“Your hero has arrived,” he announced. Virgil rolled his eyes, pulling Roman into the room.

“Shut the door behind you, Superman.”

“So you don't know Winnie the Pooh, but you do know Superman? Your priorities are all kinds of messed up,” Roman sighed as he closed the door. “So, what's shaking?”

“Our whole world,” Virgil replied. He told Roman about the strange connections between the mysterious man at Patton's work and Virgil's drive. He then told both of them about Logan's past, from Valerie Torres to their failed rebellion.

“So they made him into a robot because he wouldn't stoop to their level? Harsh,” Roman quipped. “Well, updates from my end: We don't have to worry about cameras catching us, apparently those were hooked up to Logan's servers.”

“How do you know?”

“That's right, you haven't heard about my heroic bravery yet!” Virgil rolled his eyes fondly, letting Roman continue in his own overdramatic way. “I ran back to the server room, ripping my uniform as I did so. Once I got back, I fell to the ground. Told the other guards that the criminals knocked me out cold. Held me in the hospital for a bit, and while I was pretending to sleep, I heard them talking about it.”

“Wow,” Virgil mused.

“Chivalrous, no?”

“I'm honestly shocked you had the brains to come up with it,” Virgil teased, laughing at Roman's angry red blush.

“Well, you should also know that Logan's systems controlled the electronic locks to the prisons. There are guards keeping watch now, but technically, nothing is physically holding the prisoners in their cells except for the belief that they are locked in,” Roman said, more serious.

“A prison break wouldn't be bad for us though,” Virgil replied. “For the most part, they're in there because they're rebels. We're on their side.”

“Yes, but I think we'd need to make that explicitly clear, lest we be targeted by their attacks as well,” Roman explained. They let the heavy mood hang in the air before Patton broke the silence.

“If Logan's really that much of a genius, I feel like we’ll need his help,” Patton said, not looking very hopeful. “He's asleep on the ground in my closet. Hasn't woken up once.”

“We might need to wake him up,” Virgil replied. The three of them went to Patton's room, sliding open the closet door to reveal Logan, wrapped in a blanket and sound asleep. Virgil and Roman nudged and shook him, to no avail.

Patton leaned down beside him, and gently murmured, “Wake up, sleepyhead.” With that, Logan's eyes fluttered open, and he sat up, the blanket falling into his lap.

“Oh my god,” he muttered. His voice even sounded different from when Virgil had heard it in the video, but it still sounded slightly like Logan. The three held their breath, hoping that maybe, somehow, he'd remember something… “Who are you?” His question shattered their hopes. Both Roman and Virgil deflated, but Patton kept his gentle smile.

“I'm Patton, this is Roman, and that's Virgil.”

“Alright, well, I'm Logan. I guess I didn't really want your names though… who are you? What organization do you work for?” He only got blank stares in response. “I know you rescued me… though I can't actually remember what you rescued me from-”

All three of them saw it coming before it happened. As he tried to think about it, pain rocketed through his tired mind, and he doubled over, clutching his head. Patton wrapped an arm around Logan.

“Try not to think too much right now. Just simple stuff,” Patton told him.

“Simple stuff,” he repeated. “Everything's blurry.” Patton hummed, then reached over to his night stand and grabbed a pair of glasses.

“My extras. They should fit themselves to your prescription.”

“Thanks,” Logan said, putting them over his face. He seemed to relax as he looked around. Then, his stomach growled.

“Oh, you've probably been starved half to death! Come into the kitchen, I'll get you something to eat.” Patton carefully helped Logan to his feet, and the two of them walked out the door. Once they were out of earshot, Roman turned to Virgil.

“We have to tell him everything.”

“That'll overload him, Roman,” Virgil shook his head. “We can't dump all of that on him, who knows what it'll do to his mind?”

“He's our only shot,” Roman protested. “He's definitely the smartest one of us, and if anyone would know how to get everyone's memories back, it'd be him.”

Virgil paused.

“We can let him decide. Give him the basics, and if he wants the whole story, we tell him. But if he starts falling apart, you need to promise to stop. Deal?”

“Deal,” Roman nodded. The two of them went into the kitchen where they found Logan slowly nibbling on a cookie with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

“Logan, we need your help,” Roman said, getting right to the point.

“With what?”

“That's the thing,” Virgil said. “If we tell you the whole story, it might break your mind like it did back in the bedroom.”

“But, if it doesn't, you could help us save Phantasos,” Roman finished. The weight of the sentence hung in the air.

“You know, I don't have any reason to trust you,” Logan said, stating it as if it were a fact. Virgil had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling at the irony.

“We saved you,” Patton pointed out. “And I gave you cookies!”

“Technically, they could be poisoned,” Logan said.

“But they're not,” Patton replied, trying to remain bubbly and cheery. The offer hung in the air until Logan finally caved, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Fine. Tell me.”

The three of them looked at each other, unsure where to begin. Finally, Virgil started.

"Well I was sitting at lunch with Patton…”


	13. Chapter 13

They managed to get through the story with only a few pauses to calm Logan down.

“So I gather you need my help to restore everyone’s memories?” Virgil nodded. “Well, I can take a look at the Shield you used to block INTER-Com- uh, Logan, or… me, I guess? If it can transmit things, it's probably our best shot.”

“I'll bring it. Midnight tomorrow,” Roman said, checking the clock and realizing that it was close to 3 am.

“Virgil, bring the drives,” Logan said as Virgil and Roman made their way back to their rooms under the cover of night.

The next day was tense. Roman decided to sit with his old friends at lunch in order to not raise suspicion. Patton and Virgil ate in silence, flinching at every mention of the break-in that filled the cafeteria.

And then it was midnight again, and they met back in Patton's room. Logan was wearing one of Patton's sweatshirts and a pair of his pants. The sweatshirt was designed to look like a cat, and Logan made a point of complaining about it to Roman and Virgil.

“There aren't even any cats in Phantasos! His obsession with cats makes no sense! Not to mention he literally told me last night that he's  _ allergic to them!”  _ Roman and Virgil just laughed.

Logan had managed to scrounge up tools and some circuitry from around the room. He already had a design sketched out, and was sitting at Patton's kitchen table surrounded by blueprints and tools. When Roman handed him the Shield, he went to work.

Only fifteen minutes had passed when Logan looked up, grinning.

“I think I've got it. Virgil, hand me my drive.” Virgil handed him the drive labeled ‘Logan Adreen.’

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Virgil was becoming visibly anxious. “I mean, will your brain be able to take all of the memories?” Logan shrugged, doing nothing to ease Virgil’s worries.

“I'm a good inventor. But nothing turns out perfectly… that's what tests are for.” The look on his face was a little bit of excitement, a little bit of recklessness, and a lot of fear. Still, he plugged his drive in and aimed the device at himself. “Here goes nothing.”

The light that came from the device was bright white, and it blinded the four of them for a moment. When Virgil blinked the light away, he looked to see Logan curled over himself on the ground, the Shield on the floor beside him.

“Logan?!” His mind rushed to the worst possibility as he reached down, looking for any sign of life. Then, Logan sat up, his breathing shallow. He looked around.

“We have to take this place down.” Virgil smiled, taking Logan's angry determination as a hopeful sign.

“Do you remember?” Patton nervously crouched down, looking in Logan's eyes.

“I… I don't remember anything from when I was INTER-Com, sorry. But I remember everything else. I remember who I am, what I did…” Logan was ecstatic, and it was nice to see, even if he still didn't remember them. “I really am sorry. Virgil, is there a drive that has memories from INTER-Com?”

Virgil dug around in the bag until he found the drive with a label that read “L06-4N.”

“Oh, they thought they were so clever with that serial number,” Logan groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Logan, if you use that drive, you'll remember everything. Not just your own memories, but the memories of others that INTER-Com had access to. You'll know everything,” Roman warned him, picking up the Shield.

“Roman, you've known me in different forms for a couple of weeks now. What about me makes you think that I wouldn't want to know everything there is to know?” As he asked the question, Logan's eyes shone brighter than Virgil thought possible. “Hand me the Electromagnetic Signal Interrupter.”

“Just say Shield,” Roman rolled his eyes, handing him the Shield. With a small chuckle, Virgil gave Logan the drive.

It didn't take as long for Logan to recover this time, but when he looked up, there were tears in his eyes.

“Thank you,” he choked out. “For… for trusting me, for doing so well, for saving me, for-” Patton interrupted Logan by flinging his arms around Logan's neck.

“Thank you,” Patton said. Virgil’s heart began to swell, warmth filled him, he really began to believe they could win- then, there was a knock at the door. Angry and loud, it burst the calm, hopeful bubble.

“Open up,” came a man's voice.

“That's a guard,” Roman murmured. “I recognize his voice.” Virgil could see the wheels turning in Logan's head.

“Virgil,” Logan began hatching a plan. “Gather up the bag of drives. Roman, I'll need Valerie’s ID card. Roman, Patton, grab anything you can use to fight.” He bent down and grabbed the Shield. “Something tells me we’re going to need to stage a rebellion. And I don't think we’re going to get another shot.”


	14. Chapter 14

Three more harsh knocks. His voice came again, gruff and angry.

“Open up. Now.”

Virgil looked around. Logan had a few tools strapped to his belt and brandished the Shield like a gun. Virgil himself had the bag of drives confidently slung across one shoulder. Roman was grasping a frying pan and giddily saying something about how he was like the princess from some old movie. Patton was nervously holding a broom. Roman, feeling and looking like a superhero, turned to Logan.

“Ready?”

“After you,” Logan grinned, opening the door. Roman smiled at the guard in front of him.

“Hello, officer,” he said with his trademark smile before he lifted his frying pan and smacked it across the guard’s face. Immediately, the guard crumpled to the ground. A guard in the hall behind him saw it happen and reached for his comms.

“What the hell?” He fiddled with the switch, turning it on and yelling, “Requesting backup, requesting-” Patton hit him over the head with the handle of the broom, crushing the guard’s comms underneath his shoe, as the guard collapsed to the floor.

“Sorry,” Patton chirped. They could hear commotion, footsteps, and shouting.

“Won't be long until the full force gets here,” Logan said. “Virgil, come with me. I built my server room, and I remember that there's a small satellite dish in there we can use.” Virgil nodded, and the two took off running to the server room.

“Logan, why do you need a satellite dish?”

“If I attach it to the Electromagnetic…” Logan sighed. “...if I attach it to the Shield, it'll make it so that the signal can be transmitted across Phantasos. Memories can only be held by their proper owner, and whoever’s drive is plugged in will get their memories back no matter where they are,” Logan explained. They were at the door to the server room when a familiar face rounded the corner.

She had a sunny smile, but wasn't smiling now. She carried a folder and metal water bottle, clearly on her way to work.

“Who are you- and what are you doing with my ID?!” She cried. Logan turned to Virgil, as Valerie approached.

“Virgil, do you think you can-”

“Already on it,” he said, digging through the backpack in search of Valerie’s drive. Logan looked up uncomfortably at Valerie, unsure what to do.

“Pleasure to meet you, I'm Logan.” He held out his hand for her to shake, and she looked at it as if it was a venomous snake, ready to bite her.

"Give me my ID before I call the guards on you,” she demanded, pulling out her cell phone.

“Virgil, could you maybe-”

“Got it!” Virgil called triumphantly, finding the drive labeled “Valerie Torres” and tossing it to Logan, who quickly plugged it in.

“Sorry about this,” he said. “But also… you're welcome.” With that, Logan pulled the trigger, filling the corridor with a bright white light. Valerie was on the ground, clutching her head. Logan held out his hand to help her up. She immediately took it, hopping to her feet.

“Anyone got something I can use to bash these guys heads in?”

“Glad to have you back, Valerie,” Logan smiled. She looked at him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, grinning from ear to ear, and eyes shining with tears she refused to let fall.

“Yeah, great to be back,” she said, letting go of Logan and wiping her eyes. “But my question still stands.” Logan looked around a moment before starting to take off his belt, making sure to keep his tools with him.

“You're a genius for carrying a metal water bottle to work,” he said with a grin. Immediately, Valerie caught on to his idea and helped Logan tie his belt around the top of her bottle. Once it was secure, she grinned, spinning it over her head like a medieval flail.

Before they could celebrate their little victory, Virgil heard footsteps coming their way and turned to the others.

“Looks like you'll get a chance to test that out,” Logan said. “Keep them out of here.”

“No problem.”

With that, Logan grabbed Virgil and dragged him into the server room, slamming the door shut behind them.

“Plug in another drive, doesn't matter whose,” Logan said as he ran to another side of the room in search of a satellite dish. Virgil plugged in a drive with an unfamiliar name, and waited for Logan to return.

When Logan came back, Virgil watched Logan’s skilled fingers attach the dish to the device. With that, Logan shot it into the air. The white light dissipated, spreading through Phantasos like a shock wave.

“I like that a lot better,” Virgil grinned.

“Yes, certainly helpful not to be blinded every time we use it,” Logan said. Virgil held out the bag of drives to Logan, but he shook his head.  “Keep the drives. If I'm caught and only have the device, it doesn't matter. But if I have the drives and the device, we’re done for. You got a good throwing arm?”

“Hopefully,” Virgil said ruefully, slinging the bag over his shoulder and following Logan out of the room.

“I want to stay near Valerie. It'll be more dangerous if we split up,” Logan said. Virgil could hear Patton and Roman fighting the guards down the hall, but he couldn't tell who was winning. A guard spotted Logan and ran towards him. “Toss me a drive!”

Virgil did, and Logan plugged it in, shooting it into the air as he dodged the guard’s attack. They kept going in the same manner, and Virgil was proud of his athletic ability for not having ever really practiced throwing before.

He’d toss a drive, evade a guard’s attack, Logan would catch the drive, use it, dodge a guard, and they'd repeat.

Virgil looked at the drive in his hands.

“This is an important one, Logan,” he called, tossing the drive through the air. Logan caught it, and his face softened as he read the label.

“Welcome back, Patton,” Logan murmured, shooting the device into the air. From down the corridor, they heard a loud yelp. Virgil could only hope that was a good sign.

As the fighting continued, those down the corridor started to be pushed towards Virgil and Logan. Or maybe it was Virgil and Logan who were being pushed towards the others. In either case, they were fighting the same battle now. Drives were littered across the ground. Virgil saw a little flash drive in the bag.

“Logan, this is mine. I don't know if it'll actually do anything, but worth a shot, right?” Virgil tossed his small drive across the hall to Logan, who attached it to the device and fired.

The white light came towards him, and everything around him seemed to move in slow motion. A few of his memories became clearer, like a camera shifting into focus. The biggest change was the forest of his childhood.

The president hadn't just erased memories, they'd changed them. Now, Virgil saw the starving, dark forest of his childhood for what it truly was and always had been.

Rotting trees gave way to beautiful green oaks, bare bushes became lush with leaves, berries and flowers. Angry, starving squirrels became fluffy and cute. And then there were the people.

His parents, their friends, their parents, a whole community. Virgil felt that warm bubble of hope again, and this time, it didn't go away. Quickly though, he shook off the light and stood up, just in time to dodge an attack from a guard and toss another drive to Logan.

As he looked around, Virgil realized that his memories weren't the only things affected. Everything around him seemed to shine a little less, to lose the amazing sparkle it once held. It was like the entirety of Phantasos had been wearing a mask that was finally ripped off to reveal the grimy underbelly.

Virgil threw Logan another drive.

As he fired the information from more and more drives, the battle grew. Some guards regained their memories and switched sides, while citizens of all sorts made their own decisions. Prisoners escaped and attacked their guards. There was chaos in the halls as the entirety of Phantasos fought itself.

Then, there was the very last drive. Virgil smiled gently at the familiar name on it before tossing it to Logan.

“Last one,” Virgil cried triumphantly. Logan snatched it from the air, smiled at the label, and plugged it into the device. Just as his finger was about to press the button, a guard knocked the device from his hands, sending it skidding across the floor, only a few feet from where Roman was fighting.

“Roman, hit the button,” Logan called trying to fight off the guards.

“No, Roman. Don't.” A voice that was familiar to Virgil crept into the fray as a heeled boot kicked the device out of Roman's grasp.

“Who the hell,” Roman grunted as he swung his frying pan, “are you?”

“Oh, your friends know me very well, isn't that right, Patton?”

Virgil watched Patton's face settle into anger as the puzzle pieces clicked in both of their heads.

He was the one who'd told Patton to talk to Virgil, operated him like a puppet. He was the one who brought Virgil in from the forest, kidnapped him from his home. He was the one who had destroyed Logan.

“Deceit,” Logan snarled, the angriest Virgil had ever seen him.

“That's Mr. President to you, INTER-Com,” he hissed.

“Roman, use the Shield,” Virgil called, trying to ignore Deceit.

“Roman,” Deceit began, signaling the guards attacking Roman to busy themselves elsewhere, “don't use this device. I can take it and use it for my own research, but look at what it's done to everyone.”

Roman and Virgil both looked around. People were fighting, showing the most emotion Virgil had ever seen. There was blood. There were bodies on the ground, mangled and unmoving. It made Virgil sick to his stomach.

“It's made them so upset. You don't want to be that upset, do you, Roman?” Roman, as if in a trance, shook his head.

“Roman! Snap out of it!” Virgil yelled as he tried to make his way to the Shield so that he could shoot it himself. Deceit started talking quicker.

“Don't listen to him Roman. He doesn't care. I do. You've been living your life in a dream, a wonderful dream. Stay asleep. Stay in your cozy, dark bedroom.”

A strange smirk spread across Roman's face, and Virgil couldn't help the pride that shone in his eyes as Roman turned to Deceit and replied, “Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not a huge fan of the dark.” And with that, he skidded to the ground, grabbing the device and pressing the button, grinning from ear to ear as the bright light surrounded him.

Sure, it was cliche and overdramatic, but both were words Virgil would use to describe Roman himself, and he just felt so damn proud. Once the light wore off, Roman stood up and brandished his frying pan once again, a newfound vigor filling his attacks. Annoyance started to shine through Deceit’s uncaring veneer.

“I've had quite enough of this,” he hissed, snapping his fingers. Logan came running to his side, standing at attention.

“Logan, what the hell are you doing?!” Virgil looked at him in shock and dismay.

“I'm not doing this on purpose, I promise, I have no idea-” Deceit snapped his fingers again, and Logan found his hand clamped over his mouth.

“Thank god. His voice has been getting on my nerves.” Virgil's face morphed into one of terror, as he tried to understand what was happening. Roman was distracted staring at Logan, and suddenly, two guards held him captive. Deceit hummed happily as the tide of the battle started to turn.

“What exactly are you doing, Deceit?” Valerie started to ready her makeshift flail, but Deceit just sighed.

“Logan!” He commanded. Without hesitation, Logan grabbed Valerie's arms and held them behind her back. She tried to struggle, but didn't want to hurt her friend. Logan apologized profusely, clearly confused and scared. The sound of Logan's voice filled with fear was enough to make Virgil's hands start to tremble.

“I’ve added a few security measures since your last attempt,” Deceit said. “This is definitely my favorite. Anyone who possesses a great risk to me had a little something extra put into their chip. And that little something is connected to my chip,” Deceit smiled gleefully. “They do whatever I want.”

'Anyone who possesses a great risk?” Roman asked.

“You know, someone with a little too much emotion…” Deceit snapped, and Patton stood at attention, his eyes widening in fear. “...or someone who isn't from around here…” He clapped twice, and Virgil froze. “...or someone with a bit too much of a brain.” Deceit simply gestured at Logan, who was snarling at him.

“You didn't give one to Roman,” Logan pointed out. “That's your big mistake.” Instead of looking afraid, like they'd all expected, Deceit just laughed.

“Dreamer boy? I'm really not all that scared of him.”

“You should be,” Virgil said, anger rising to the back of his throat.

“No, Virgil, he's right,” Roman sighed. Virgil looked to Roman, concern filling him. But when he saw Roman's face, something wasn't quite right. He looked hopeless, just like his tone would suggest. But there was something akin to a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I’m not going to win this for us… It's hopeless.” Roman started to dramatically lament their loss, and Virgil noticed that he seemed to be slowly slipping his hand into his pocket.

Mechanical engineering was never Roman's strong suit, but brute force sure was. Everything that happened seemed to unfold in slow motion. Virgil watched Roman snap the satellite dish off of the Shield. He watched the guards flinch at the loud sound it made. That was all the opening Roman needed.

He slipped out of the guards’ grasp and grabbed the Shield, saying, “God, I really hope this does what I think it’ll do,” and squeezing his eyes shut before hitting the button. Sure enough, without the satellite dish to disperse the burst of light, it blinded everyone nearby.

But Roman was ready. He kicked the guards’ legs out from under them and made a beeline for Deceit, determination set in his face.

Panicking, Deceit backed away and snapped his fingers, sending Patton and Virgil running at Roman. Virgil tried to slow his legs, tried to stop himself, but he simply kept running. Valerie threw her flail, letting it skid to the floor in front of Roman, who scooped it up in one fluid motion, and started to catch on to her plan.

“I'm so sorry,” he said, wincing at Virgil and Patton.

“No, please, go right ahead,” Virgil smirked, and Patton nodded in agreement. With that, Roman spun the flail, making sure to aim for their legs, and knocking them both back. He didn't even break his stride. Soon, Roman had Deceit pinned against the wall of the hallway, Roman's arm across Deceit’s neck.

“Well, what's next? You kill me, then what?” Deceit snarled at him.

“I'm not going to…” Virgil watched Roman’s pride diminish for a moment at the thought of murdering Deceit. Quickly, Roman regained his powerful stance. “First, I want you to release Logan, Patton, and Virgil.” Deceit rolled his eyes, but Roman started to raise the flail towards Deceit’s head, and the president quickly snapped his fingers.

Virgil's whole body relaxed. Logan let go of Valerie, still apologizing to her. Roman smiled at them.

“Now… Now we're going to take over Phantasos, and we’ll rule it better than-”

“No, Roman,” Logan said, shaking his head. “We can't.”

“Why not? It's a fully functioning society,” Roman pointed out.

“It's not,” Logan replied. “Follow me.” Roman grabbed Deceit’s arms, detaining him like a criminal as they followed Logan down the hallway. They reached the tall windows that housed Phantasos’s Biochambers.

Without its mask, Phantasos was disgusting, no place more so than these fields. The rolling hills of grass were hills of dying plants and weeds. The fruit and vegetable fields were flat expanses filled with rotten fruit and shriveled plants.

“The fields were fake. A combination of memory alteration and letting you see what you wanted to see. And without INTER-Com’s servers, most of the machinery won't function, and will probably start to break. This whole place is threatening to fall apart,” Logan told them. Deceit shrugged as the others gasped, looking at what had once been beautiful fields. This sight was more like Virgil's nightmares than the actual outside world was.

“Well then…” Roman frowned. “We take the citizens outside, lead them to a life of prosperity, of-”

“Why not let them decide?” Everyone turned to Deceit, who had his arms held roughly behind his back by Roman. “Look, like it or not, I am a good leader.”

“Falsehood,” Logan scoffed bitterly.

“Once you try, you'll see how hard it is,” Deceit insisted. “People like to be lied to, they need to be lied to. If you let them see everything, they won't be happy. People are happy under my rule.”

“That's not true!” Patton exclaimed.

“Fine. We can let them decide,” Virgil said. The others looked at him, dumbstruck. “We can't force them to go with us,” he explained, “so we make our case, and Deceit makes his. They choose. We leave, Deceit stays here.” Deceit shrugged.

“Sounds fine to me,” he said, a small smirk alighting on his face.

“And,” Logan added, with a pointed glare at Deceit, “before we let him do that, I can turn the Shield into a device that'll cut all ties between our chips and his. That way, everyone is actually free to make their own decision.”

That made Deceit’s grin slide into a frown, but the others agreed that it was only fair, and they walked back to the scene of the battle.

“Work your magic, nerd,” Roman called, tossing the Shield to Logan. Within less than a minute, Logan had fixed it and fired it. A blue light burst from the device, and they watched as it enveloped the entirety of Phantasos.

“Alright. Now, I state my case,” Deceit said. Roman bedgrudgingly released him, but kept him under a watchful eye. “INTER-Com, you get their attention, they'll recognize your voice and listen to you.” Logan snarled at Deceit, but knew that he was right.

“Citizens of Phantasos,” he announced. They stopped their fighting, turning towards the familiar voice coming from the not so familiar man. “This is your president.” Logan pointed at Deceit, who immediately adopted a confident persona.

“This revolution is going nowhere,” he began, and Virgil saw that every bone in Logan's body wanted to debate that. “You need an experienced leader, and that's me. Put down your weapons, and stay here, in your home, with me.”

The crowd seemed thoroughly convinced, and most of them put down their weapons. Still, they turned to the others, wondering what they had to say.

“He's been lying to you,” Roman spat.

Logan nodded, adding, “We showed you the truth.”

“We may not always know what we are doing, but if you come with us, we will try our hardest to make you happy. And we'll never lie to you,” Patton said.

“Come with us outside,” Virgil pleaded. “He's told you all it's an awful, terrifying place, but it isn't. I've been there, I know.”

The crowd seemed to understand immediately that this was an ultimatum. Many of the guards stood in front of Deceit, still loyal to his rule. Prisoners, angry and defiant, stood in front of Virgil and the others. Citizens had a choice to make. Families and friends argued, but the leaders of both sides stayed silent, letting them choose for themselves.

It wasn't long until everyone had made a decision. Far more had gone to the rebel’s side, but plenty of citizens wanted to remain in the dark. As much as Virgil wanted to drag them outside, help them, he knew that he couldn't force their decision. The outside world would always be open to them, even if they chose to remain with Deceit.

Logan unceremoniously lead the crowd to the tall iron doors separating Phantasos from Theodon. With a shaking hand, he used Valerie's ID to unlock them.

They swung open, creaking loudly from lack of use, to reveal the outside world. It was even more beautiful than Virgil’s restored memory had told him.

Bright, fluorescent colors. Grass greener than anything they'd seen before. A bright, blue sky that almost hurt your eyes to look at. Trees, flowers, squirrels, just like the fields of Phantasos, only this wasn't a lie. It was the first real nature most of the residents had seen. Acting purely on human instinct, they ran.

They ran into the fields of lush, green grass. Kids rolled down hills, racing each other. Mothers who had only recently remembered their children nervously followed them. Teenagers climbed trees, seeing just how high up they could go.

Sure, Deceit was just inside, and he could theoretically launch an attack. But Virgil had a feeling that they were safe. Besides, out there, in the real world, Virgil felt like he could run forever, and Deceit would never catch him.

The iron doors locked Deceit and his guards inside, and the escaped residents ran across the horizon until Phantasos was a grey dot in the distance. As they ran, Roman, laughing, scooped Virgil up and spun him around.

“We did it! We actually, truly did it!”

“Didn't you say I owed you something if we won?” Virgil smiled, holding onto Roman's shoulders for fear of falling. Roman's face turned pink.

“I- I was tired, that was very unprofessional, I apologize,” Roman stammered out. Virgil rolled his eyes, still in Roman's arms.

“Bummer. I was weirdly looking forward to that.” Roman's face lit up, and he laughed. With that, Roman kissed Virgil. An ecstatic, overjoyed kiss that tasted like sunshine. Really, Roman's lips tasted just like the feeling of sunshine on Virgil's skin. Every fear he'd had, ever worry, every thought that plagued him melted away under the warmth of Roman's kiss.

“How… human,” Logan scoffed at them. Patton giggled.

“You're human too!”

“Yes, I try to forget,” Logan sighed, sending Patton into a spiral of laughter. “What's so funny?”

“Nothing,” Patton regained his composure, a playful smile still on his face. The four of them sat in the grass.

“All’s well that ends well,” Roman sighed, falling onto his back and looking up at the sky. Suddenly, Logan stiffened, sitting up straight, eyes wide with realization.

“What is it, buddy?” Patton looked slightly amused, but more than a little concerned. Logan, seemingly realizing how dramatic his reaction to his revelation had been, blushed and relaxed.

“It's not earth shattering, per say, but with all of my memories restored, I realized something.” They gave him curious looks. “Your dreams…maybe it's better if I demonstrate.” Logan cleared his throat. “Remember, I’ve got to- you’ve got to remember. Please. Help. I’m trying- try- tried- trying…” He mimicked a more robotic version of himself, but Virgil recognized it immediately.

“You were the dream voice,” Virgil gasped. Logan nodded.

“I was trying to convey information through INTER-Com, and I suppose that's how it manifested.”

“Yeah, well thanks for keeping me up until two in the morning,” Roman chided. Logan laughed and apologized. They stared at the world around them, looking at the sky even when the bright blue hurt their eyes.

“You think we can do this?” Roman's question was soft, genuine, and a bit scared.

“Dunno,” Virgil sighed, sitting in the grass. “It'll be hard making a whole new society.”

“We have an entire community of people,” Logan pointed out, gesturing to the citizens running around them. “And they'll help us. We have nothing to fear.”

It was impossible to truly have nothing to fear, but the sentiment put Virgil's mind at ease. He leaned into Roman's shoulder. Roman smiled and started humming a chipper tune.

“What's that song?”

“Oh, well it's from this old cartoon-”

“Stop,” Virgil interrupted him, laughing. “I don't even know why I bothered asking. What else would it be?” Roman grinned and started to sing.

“I've got no strings to hold me down, to make me fret, or make me frown. I had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on me.”


End file.
